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OF  THE 

UN/VERS/TY 


The  rabbit  tells  Nanahboozhoo  of  his  troubles. 


ALGONQUIN 
INDIAN    TALES 


COLLECTED  BY 

EGERTON  R.  YOUNG 

1 1 

AUTHOR  OF  "  BY  CANOE  AND  DOG-TRAIN,"  "  THE  APOSTLE  OF  THE  NORTH,' 
"THREE  BOYS  IN  THE  WILD  NORTH  LAND,"  ETC. 


3ITY 


NEW  YORK  :   EATON  &  MAINS 
CINCINNATI :  JENNINGS  &  PYE 


GENERAL^ 

Copyright  by 

EGERTON    R.  YOUNG 

1903 


CHIEF  BIG  CANOE'S  LETTER 


GEORGINA  ISLAND.,  LAKE  SIMCOE. 

REV.  EGERTON  R.  YOUNG. 

DEAR  FRIEND:  Your  book  of  stories  gathered 
from  among  my  tribe  has  very  much  pleased  me. 
The  reading  of  them  brings  up  the  days  of  long  time 
ago  when  I  was  a  boy  and  heard  our  old  people  tell 
these  tales  in  the  wigwams  and  at  the  camp  fire. 

I  am  very  glad  that  you  are  in  this  way  saving 
them  from  being  forgotten,  and  I  am  sure  that  many 
people  will  be  glad  to  read  them. 
With  best  wishes, 
KECHE  CHEMON  (Charles  Big  Canoe), 

Chief  of  the  Ojibways. 


1 

JL 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 


IN  all  ages,  from  the  remotest  antiquity,  the  story 
teller  has  flourished.  Evidences  of  his  existence  are 
to  be  found  among  the  most  ancient  monuments  and 
writings  in  the  Orient.  In  Egypt,  Nineveh,  Baby 
lon,  and  other  ancient  lands  he  flourished,  and  in 
the  homes  of  the  noblest  he  was  ever  an  honored 
guest. 

The  oldest  collection  of  folklore  stories  or  myths 
now  in  existence  is  of  East  Indian  origin  and  is  pre 
served  in  the  Sanskrit.  The  collection  is  called 
Hitopadesa,  and  the  author  was  Veshnoo  Sarma. 
Of  this  collection,  Sir  William  Jones,  the  great 
Orientalist,  wrote,  "The  fables  of  Veshnoo  are  the 
most  beautiful,  if  not  the  most  ancient,  collection  of 
apologues  in  the  world."  As  far  back  as  the 
sixth  century  translations  were  made  from  them. 

The  same  love  for  myths  and  legends  obtains  to 
day  in  those  Oriental  lands.  There,  where  the  ancient 
and  historic  so  stubbornly  resist  any  change — in 
Persia,  India,  China,  and  indeed  all  over  that  vener- 

5 


INTRODUCTORY    NOTE 

able  East — the  man  who  can  recite  the  ancient  apo 
logues  or  legends  of  the  past  can  always  secure  an 
audience  and  command  the  closest  attention. 

While  the  general  impression  is  that  the  recital  of 
these  old  myths  and  legends  among  Oriental  nations 
was  for  the  mere  pastime  of  the  crowds,  it  is  well  to 
bear  in  mind  that  many  of  them  were  used  as  a 
means  to  convey  great  truths  or  to  reprove  error. 
Hence  the  recital  of  them  was  not  confined  to  a 
merely  inquisitive  audience  that  desired  to  be 
amused.  We  have  a  good  example  of  this  in 
the  case  of  the  recital  by  Jotham,  as  recorded  in 
the  book  of  Judges,  of  the  legend  of  the  gathering 
of  the  trees  for  the  purpose  of  having  one  of  them 
anointed  king  over  the  rest.  Of  this  legend  Dr. 
Adam  Clarke,  the  commentator,  says,  "This  is  the 
oldest  and,  without  exception,  the  best  fable  or 
apologue  in  the  world." 

The  despotic  nature  of  the  governments  of  those 
Oriental  nations  caused  the  people  often  to  use  the 
fable  or  myth  as  an  indirect  way  to  reprove  or  cen 
sure  when  it  would  not  have  been  safe  to  have  used 
a  direct  form  of  speech.  The  result  was  that  it  at 
tained  a  higher  degree  of  perfection  there  than 
among  any  other  people.  An  excellent  example  is 
Nathan's  reproof  of  David  by  the  recital  of  the  fable 
of  the  poor  man's  ewe  lamb. 


INTRODUCTORY    NOTE 

The  red  Indians  of  America  have  justly  been  fa 
mous  for  their  myths  and  legends.  We  have  never 
heard  of  a  tribe  that  did  not  have  a  store  of  them. 
Even  the  hardy  Eskimo  in  his  igloo  of  ice  is  sur 
prisingly  rich  in  folklore  stories.  A  present  of 
a  knife  or  some  other  trifle  that  he  desires  will  cause 
him  to  talk  by  the  hour  to  his  guest,  whether  he  be 
the  daring  trader  or  adventurous  explorer,  on  the 
traditions  that  have  come  down  to  him.  The  inter 
change  of  visits  between  the  northern  Indians  and 
the  Eskimos  has  resulted  in  the  discovery  that 
quite  a  number  of  the  myths  recited  in  Indian  wig 
wams  are  in  a  measure,  if  not  wholly,  of  Eskimo 
origin.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Eskimo  has  not 
failed  to  utilize  and  incorporate  into  his  own  rich 
store  some  that  are  undoubtedly  of  Indian  origin. 

For  thirty  years  or  more  we  have  been  gathering 
up  these  myths  and  legends.  Sometimes  a  brief 
sentence  or  two  of  one  would  be  heard  in  some  wig 
wam — just  enough  to  excite  curiosity — then  years 
would  elapse  ere  the  whole  story  could  be  secured. 
As  the  tribes  had  no  written  language,  and  the  In 
dians  had  to  depend  entirely  upon  their  memory, 
it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  there  were,  at  times, 
great  divergences  in  the  recital  of  even  the  most 
familiar  of  their  stories.  We  have  heard  the  same 
legend  given  by  several  story-tellers  and  no  two 

7 


INTRODUCTORY    NOTE 

agreed  in  many  particulars.  Others,  however,  were 
told  with  very  slight  differences. 

We  have  adopted  the  course  of  recording  what 
seemed  to  us  the  most  natural  version  and  most  in 
harmony  with  the  instincts  and  characteristics  of  the 
pure  Indian.  The  close  scientific  student  of  Indian 
folklore  will  see  that  we  have  softened  some  expres 
sions  and  eliminated  some  details  that  were  non- 
essential.  The  crude  Indian  languages,  while  abso 
lutely  free  from  blasphemy,  cannot  always  be 
literally  translated.  Verbwn  sat  sapienti. 

The  method  we  have  adopted,  in  the  presentation 
of  these  myths  and  legends  in  connection  with  the 
chatter  and  remarks  of  our  little  ones,  while  unusual, 
will,  we  trust,  prove  attractive  and  interesting.  We 
have  endeavored  to  make  it  a  book  for  all  classes. 
Here  are  some  old  myths  in  new  settings,  and  here 
are  some,  we  venture  to  think,  that  have  never  be 
fore  been  seen  in  English  dress.  These  will  interest 
the  student  of  such  subjects,  while  the  general  style 
of  the  book  will,  we  hope,  make  it  attractive  to  young 
readers. 

Nanahboozhoo,  the  personage  who  occupies  the 
principal  part  in  these  myths,  is  the  most  widely 
known  of  all  those  beings  of  supposed  miraculous 
birth  who  played  such  prominent  parts  in  Indian 

legends.    He  does  not  seem  to  have  been  claimed  by 

8 


INTRODUCTORY   NOTE 

any  one  particular  tribe.  Doubtless  legends  of  him 
were  transmitted  down  from  the  time  when  the 
division  of  tribes  had  not  so  extensively  taken  place; 
when  perhaps  the  Algonquin,  now  so  subdivided, 
was  one  great  tribe,  speaking  one  language. 

The  variety  of  names  by  which  he  is  known  is  ac 
counted  for  by  these  tribal  divisions  and  the  rapid 
changes  which  took  place  in  the  language  owing  to 
its  having  no  written  form  to  maintain  its  unity. 

What  his  original  name  was,  when  legends  about 
him  first  began  to  be  told,  is  of  course  unknown. 
However,  since  the  white  race  began  to  gather  up 
and  record  these  Indian  myths  he  has  been  known  as 
Misha-wabus,  Manabush,  Jous-ke-ha,  Messou, 
Manabozho,  Nanahboozhoo,  Hiawatha,  Chiabo, 
Singua-sew — and  even  some  other  names  have  been 
heard.  We  have  given  him  in  this  volume  the  name 
of  Nanahboozhoo  as  that  was  the  one  most  fre 
quently  used  by  the  Indians  among  whom  we  lived 
or  visited. 

There  is  more  unanimity  about  his  origin,  among 
the  tribes,  than  about  his  name.  The  almost  univer 
sal  report  is  that  he  was  the  son  of  Mudjekeewis, 
the  West  Wind.  His  mother  was  Wenonah,  the 
daughter  of  Nokomis. 

The  author  desires  very  gratefully  to  record  his 
indebtedness,  for  assistance  or  hints  received  in  the 

9 


INTRODUCTORY   NOTE 

pleasant  work  of  here  clustering  these  Indian  folk 
lore  stories,  to  many  friends,  among  them  such  In 
dian  missionaries  as  Revs.  Peter  Jones,  John  Sun 
day,  Henry  Steinham,  Allan  Salt,  and  also  to  his 
Indian  friends  and  comrades  at  many  a  camp  fire 
and  in  many  a  wigwam.  He  also  wishes  in  this 
way  to  express  his  appreciation  of  and  indebtedness 
to  the  admirable  Reports  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti 
tution.  He  has  there  obtained  verification  of  and 
fuller  information  concerning  many  an  almost  for 
gotten  legend. 

In  regard  to  a  number  of  the  finest  of  the  photo 
graphic  illustrations  in  the  volume  the  author  grate 
fully  acknowledges  his  obligations  to  the  Canada 
Pacific  Railway  Company,  without  whose  assistance 
it  would  have  been  impossible  to  reach  many  of  the 
sublime  and  romantic  places  here  portrayed;  until 
very  recently  known  only  to  the  adventurous  red 
Indian  hunter,  but  now  brought  within  the  reach  of 
any  enterprising  tourist. 


10 


CONTENTS 


Introductory  Note Page  5 

CHAPTER   I. 

The  Children  Carried  Off  by  the  Indians— The  Feast  in 
the  Wigwam — Souwanas,  the  Story-teller — Nanahboozhoo, 
the  Indian  Myth— How  the  Wolves  Stole  His  Dinner,  and 
Why  the  Birch  Tree  Bark  is  Scarred— Why  the  Raccoon 
has  Rings  on  His  Tail  -  Page  17 

CHAPTER   II. 

The  Children's  Return — Indignation  of  Mary,  the  Indian 
Nurse — Her  Pathetic  History — Her  Love  for  the  Children — 
The  Story  of  Wakonda,  and  of  the  Origin  of  Mosquitoes. 

Page  31 

CHAPTER   III. 

More  about  Mary  and  the  Children — Minnehaha  Stung  by 
the  Bees — How  the  Bees  Got  Their  Stings — What  Happened 
to  the  Bears  that  Tried  to  Steal  the  Honey  -  Page  41 

CHAPTER   IV. 

The  Love  Story  of  Wakontas— His  Test  of  the  Two 
Maidens — His  Choice — The  Transformation  of  Misticoosis. 

Page  51 

CHAPTER   V. 

The  Startling  Placard— What  Happened  to  the  Little  Run 
aways — The  Rescue — Mary  Tells  Them  the  Legend  of  the 
Swallows — How  Some  Cruel  Men  were  Punished  who 
Teased  an  Orphan  Boy  -  Page  60 

n 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Souwanas  Tells  of  the  Origin  and  Queer  Doings  of 
Nanahboozhoo — How  He  Lost  His  Brother  Nahpootee, 
the  Wolf—Why  the  Kingfisher  Wears  a  White  Collar. 

Page  73 

CHAPTER     VII, 

The  Legend  of  the  Bad  Boy — How  He  was  Carried  Away 
by  Annungitee,  and  How  He  was  Rescued  by  His  Mother. 

Page  80 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Happy  Christmas  Holidays — Indians  Made  Glad  with 
Presents — Souwanas  Tells  How  Nanahboozhoo  Stole  the 
Fire  from  the  Old  Magician  and  Gave  It  to  the  Indians. 

Page  87 

CHAPTER   IX. 

Kinnesasis — How  the  Coyote  Obtained  the  Fire  from  the 
Interior  of  the  Earth  -  Page  96 

CHAPTER   X. 

The  Christmas  Packet— The  Distribution  of  Gifts— A  Visit 
by  Dog  Train,  at  Fifty-five  Below  Zero — Souwanas  Tells 
How  the  Indians  First  Learned  to  Make  Maple  Sugar. 

Page  105 

CHAPTER  XL 

Mary  Relates  the  Legend  of  the  Origin  of  Disease — The 
Queer  Councils  Held  by  the  Animals  Against  Their  Common 
Enemy,  Man  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  Page  115 

CHAPTER   XII. 

The  Naming  of  the  Baby — A  Canoe  Trip — The  Legend  of 
the  Discovery  of  Medicine— How  the  Chipmunk  Carried  the 
Good  News  -  -  •  .  •  •  -  Page  124 

12 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER   XIII. 

In  the  Wigwam  of  Souwanas — How  Gray  Wolf  Perse 
cuted  Waubenoo,  and  How  He  was  Punished  by  Nanah- 
boozhoo -  -  -  Page  133 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

The  Pathetic  Love  Story  of  Waubenoo — The  Treachery 
of  Gray  Wolf—The  Legend  of  the  Whisky  Jack  -  Page  141 

CHAPTER   XV. 

A  Novel  Race:  the  Wolverine  and  the  Rock — How  the 
Wolverine's  Legs  were  Shortened — A  Punishment  for 
Conceit  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  *  -  -  -  Page  152 

CHAPTER   XVI. 

The  Legend  of  the  Twin  Children  of  the  Sun — How  They 
Rid  the  Earth  of  Some  of  the  Great  Monsters — Their  Great 
Battle  with  Nikoochis,  the  Giant  ...  Page  159 

CHAPTER   XVII. 

Souwanas  Tells  of  the  Queer  Way  in  which  Nanahboozhoo 
Destroyed  Mooshekinnebik,  the  Last  of  the  Great  Monsters. 

Page  169 

CHAPTER   XVIII. 

Welcome  Springtime  in  the  Northland — How  Nanah 
boozhoo  Killed  the  Great  White  Sea  Lion,  the  Chief  of  the 
Magicians— The  Revenge— The  Flood— Escape  of  Nanah 
boozhoo  and  the  Animals  on  the  Raft — The  Creation  of  a 
New  World  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  Page  180 

CHAPTER   XIX. 

Among  the  Briers  and  Wild  Roses— Why  the  Roses  have 
Thorns— Why  the  Wild  Rabbits  are  White  in  Winter. 

Page  190 
13 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER   XX. 

Passing  Hunters  and  Their  Spoils — The  Vain  Woman — 
Why  the  Marten  has  a  White  Spot  on  His  Breast. 

Page  203 

CHAPTER   XXI. 

Shooting  Loons — Why  the  Loon  has  a  Flat  Back,  Red 
Eyes,  and  Such  Queer  Feet — Nanahboozhoo  Loses  His 
Dinner — Origin  of  Lichens — Why  Some  Willows  are  Red — 
The  Partridge  -------  Page  211 

CHAPTER   XXII. 

Nanahboozhoo' s  Ride  on  the  Back  of  the  Buzzard,  who 
Lets  Him  Fall — A  Short-lived  Triumph — Why  the  Buzzard 
has  No  Feathers  on  His  Head  or  Neck  -  -  Page  222 

CHAPTER   XXIII. 

A  Moonlight  Trip  on  the  Lake — The  Legend  of  the 
Orphan  Boy — His  Appeal  to  the  Man  in  the  Moon — How 
He  Conquered  His  Enemies  -  ...  Page  230 

CHAPTER   XXIV. 

Souwanas's  Love  for  Souwanaquenapeke — How  Nanah 
boozhoo  Cured  a  Little  Girl  Bitten  by  a  Snake — How  the 
Rattlesnake  got  Its  Rattle — The  Origin  of  Tobacco — Nanah 
boozhoo  in  Trouble  -  -  -  '  -  -  -  Page  237 

CHAPTER   XXV. 

The  Dead  Moose— The  Rivalry  Between  the  Elk  and  the 
Moose  People,  and  Their  Various  Contests — The  Disaster 
that  Befell  the  Latter  Tribe— The  Haze  of  the  Indian 
Summer  -  *  -  -  -  -  -  -  Page  245 

Glossary        -        -        -        -  . ., .  -        -        -        -        Page  257 

14 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


The  rabbit  tells  Nanahboozhoo  of  his  troubles       Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGE 

With  the  children  cuddled  around,  Souwanas  began      .  22 

The  wild  and  picturesque  Ka-ka-be-ka  Falls        .        .  34 

They  howled  with  rage  and  terror            ....  49 

The  startling  placard     .        .         .        ....  53 

While  her  mate  stood  beside  her       .....  53 

Surrounding  them  were  fierce  Indian  dogs          .        .  62 

The  beautiful  reflections  in  the  water       .         .        .        .  77 

They  tumbled  the  tall  ghost  over          .        .        .        .  85 

Where  the  fire  was  stolen 91 

Their  dog  trains  were  in  constant  demand           .        .  87 
The  coyote  was  too  quick  for  them           .        .         .        .103 

Across  a  single  log  at  a  dizzy  height     .        .        .         .  in 

Which  white  men  call  Cathedral  Mountain      .        ,        .  117 

Their  babies  with  them          .        .        .        .        ...  124 

Gave  him  such  a  terrible  beating      .        .        .        .        «  138 

The  big  rock  was  surely  gaining  on  him      ...  154 

Sun  dance  lodge  of  the  Blood  Indians      .        .        .        .  160 

They  both  threw  their  magic  sticks      ....  166 

He  took  a  leap  into  the  open  mouth         ,        .-      *        .  176 

He  ran  away  west  to  the  great  mountains           .        .  187 

Wigwams  and  Indians       .        ...        .        /       .  204 

The  Indian  story-teller           ...        .        .     .  v    ..*  222 

Nanahboozhoo  then  mounted  on  the  back  of  the  great 

buzzard         ..        .        .        .        .        •        .        •  226 

With  Mary  and  Kennedy  in  the  birch  canoe  .        .230 

Nanahboozhoo  gave  him  a  great  push          .        .     * .  242 

They  were  excited  at  his  coming      .        .        .        .        .  254 


Algonquin  Indian  Tales 


CHAPTER 

The  Children  Carried  Off  by  the  Indians— The  Feast  in 
the  Wigwam— Souwanas,  the  Story-teller— Nanahboozhoo, 
the  Indian  Myth— How  the  Wolves  Stole  His  Dinner,  and 
Why  the  Birch  Tree  Bark  is  Scarred— Why  the  Raccoon 
has  Rings  on  His  Tail. 

ITHOUT  even  knocking  at  the 
door  there  noiselessly  entered 
our  northern  home  two  large, 
unhandsome  Indians.  They  paid 
not  the  slightest  attention  to  the 
grown-up  palefaces  present,  but  in 
their  ghostly  way  marched  across  the 
room  to  the  corner  where  the  two  lit 
tle  children  were  playing  on  the  floor. 
Quickly  but  gently  picking  them  up 
they  swung  them  to  their  shoulders, 
and  then,  without  a  word  of  saluta 
tion  or  even  a  glance  at  the  parents, 
they  noiselessly  passed  out  of  that  narrow  door  and 
disappeared  in  the  virgin  forest.  They  were  pagan 
Saulteaux,  by  name  Souwanas  and  Jakoos. 

The  Indian  names  by  which  these  two  children 
were  called  by  the  natives  were  "Sagastaookemou," 

17 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

which  means  the  "Sunrise  Gentleman,"  and  "Minne- 
haha,"  "Laughing  Waters." 

To  the  wigwam  of  Souwanas,  "South  Wind," 
these  children  were  being  carried.  They  had  no  fear 
of  these  big  Indians,  though  the  boy  was  only  six 
years  old,  and  his  little  sister  but  four.  They  had 
learned  to  look  with  laughing  eyes  even  into  the 
fiercest  and  ugliest  of  these  red  faces  and  had  made 
them  their  friends. 

So  even  now,  while  being  carried  away  among 
the  dense  trees,  they  merrily  laughed  and  shouted  to 
each  other.  The  bright  patches  of  sunshine  on  the 
ground,  the  singing  birds,  and  the  few  brilliant- 
hued  summer  flowers,  brought  forth  their  exclama 
tions  of  delight,  while  all  the  time  the  grave,  silent 
Indians  hurried  them  on  deeper  and  deeper  into  the 
forest.  Yet  carefully  they  guarded  their  precious 
loads,  and  as  the  antlered  deer  in  passing  through 
the  thick  woods  and  under  the  low  branches  never 
strike  trunk  or  bough,  so  these  sons  of  the  forest 
glided  swiftly  on  without  allowing  any  hurt  to  come 
to  the  children  of  the  paleface,  even  if  at  times  the 
faint  trail  led  them  over  slippery  rocks  and  under 
low  intertwining  branches. 

The  wigwam  of  Souwanas  was  pitched  in  a 
beautiful  spot  at  the  edge  of  the  great  forest  near  the 
sandy,  rocky  eastern  shore  of  Lake  Winnipeg.  This 
great  lake  is  well  called  The  Sea,  which  is  the  mean 
ing  of  its  Indian  name.  It  is  about  as  long  as  Lakes 
Ontario  and  Erie  combined  and  in  some  places  is 
eighty  miles  wide. 

18 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

At  the  entrance  of  the  wigwam,  which  was  made 
of  a  couple  of  tanned  reindeerskins,  the  children 
were  carefully  lifted  down  from  the  men's  shoulders 
and  then  taken  into  this  Indian  abode.  Coming  in 
suddenly  from  the  bright  sunshine  it  was  some  time 
before  they  could  see  distinctly.  The  door  flap  of 
deerskin  had  dropped  like  a  curtain  behind  them. 
All  the  light  there  was  came  in  through  the  hole  in 
the  top,  where  the  poles  of  the  wigwam  crossed  each 
other.  Presently,  however,  they  were  able  to  see  a 
circle  of  Indian  children  gathered  around  a  small 
fire  that  smoldered  on  the  ground  in  the  center  of 
the  tent.  It  was  now  in  the  pleasant  summer  time, 
but  the  fire  was  needed  for  something  else  than 
warmth,  as  the  little  Sagastao  and  Minnehaha  dis 
covered  before  long.  They  were  soon  seated  in  the 
circle  with  the  red  children,  who,  young  though  they 
were,  were  a  wee  bit  startled  at  seeing  these  little 
palefaces.  The  white  children,  however,  simply 
laughed  with  glee.  This  outward  demonstration 
seemed  very  improper  to  the  silent  red  children,  who 
were  taught  to  refrain  from  expressions  of  their 
gladness  or  sorrow. 

The  Indians  had  brought  the  white  children  for  a 
characteristic  reason.  They  had  said  among  them 
selves,  "If  the  white  father  and  mother  love  us  as 
they  say  they  do  we  will  test  them  by  taking  away 
their  children  without  asking  permission."  They 
also  wished  to  show  their  own  love  for  the  children, 
and  so  had  really  brought  them  to  a  children's  feast. 

It  was  perhaps  as  queer  a  tea  party  as  you  ever 
19 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

heard  of.  There  was  no  table  on  which  to  put  the 
good  things  prepared  for  the  feast.  No  plates,  no 
cups  and  saucers,  no  knives,  no  spoons,  not  even  a 
chair!  There  were  no  cakes,  no  tarts,  no  jam,  no 
pies,  not  even  any  bread  and  butter ! 

"Well,  what  a  feast!"  you  say.  "Without  any 
place  to  sit,  or  good  things  to  eat!"  Not  too  fast! 
There  were  both  of  these.  There  was  the  lap  of 
mother  earth,  and  so  down  on  the  ground,  with  bear 
skins  and  deerskins  on  it  for  rugs,  the  children  sat. 
Then  the  deerskin  door  was  again  opened  and  in 
came  Indians  with  birch-bark  dishes,  called  rogans, 
in  which  were  nicely  prepared  wild  ducks,  rabbits, 
and  partridges.  But  as  they  were  uncooked  they 
could  not  yet  be  eaten,  by  the  now  expectant,  hungry 
children. 

Then  began  the  preparation  of  the  feast.  Some  of 
the  Indians  added  dry  wood  to  the  fire  until  there 
was  a  hot,  smokeless  blaze.  Others  took  out  their 
sharp  hunting  knives  and  cleverly  cut  up  the  ducks, 
rabbits,  and  partridges.  Then  these  pieces  were 
spitted  on  the  ends  of  sharp  points  of  hard  wood 
and  skillfully  broiled  or  toasted  in  the  hot  flames. 
As  fast  as  the  dainty  bits  of  meat  were  cooked  and 
a  little  cooled  they  were  given  to  the  children  in  their 
fingers,  and  in  that  way  the  little  ones  had  their 
feast. 

Now,  please  don't  turn  up  your  noses  at  such  a 
feast.  Think  of  it :  out  in  a  wigwam  in  the  lovely 
forest,  where  the  wild  birds  sing  and  the  squirrels 
chatter,  where  is  heard  the  music  of  the  waves  play- 
so 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

ing  on  the  shore  but  a  few  yards  away,  with  great 
friendly  Indians  as  your  waiters!  The  very  air  of 
that  northern  summer  gives  you  an  appetite  ready 
for  anything. 

Those  little  people,  red  and  white,  soon  became 
the  j  oiliest  of  friends,  and  as  the  white  children  could 
speak  the  Indian  language  as  well  as  their  own  they 
were  soon  all  chattering  away  most  merrily  while 
they  daintily  picked  the  bones.  Of  course  this  way 
of  eating  was  hard  upon  their  hands,  faces,  and 
clothing,  but  what  healthy  child  ever  gave  a  second 
thought — if  a  first — to  any  of  these  things? 

After  a  time  this  feast,  as  all  feasts  must,  came  to 
an  end.    Then  the  question  was,  "What  shall  we  do 
next  for  the  children?"  for  the  whole  day  had  been 
planned  by  the  grown-up  Indians  for  the  entertain 
ment  of  the  little  people.    Canoes  had  been  collected 
on  the  shore  of  Winnipeg,  handy  if  it  should  be  de 
cided  that  they  all  should  go  for  an  afternoon  out 
ing  on  the  water.     However,  Souwanas,  who  had 
gone  out  to  look  at  the  sky  and  observe  the  winds 
and   waves,   now   came   in   and   reported   that   he 
thought  they  would  better  put  off  the  canoe  trip  to 
some  time  when  the  lake  was  more  calm.     It  was 
then  suggested  that  the  children  be  asked  what  would 
please  them  most.    The  little  folks,  white  and  red, 
were  not  slow  in  giving  their  decision. 
"Tell  us  a  story  about  Nanahboozhoo." 
"Who  shall  be  the  story-teller?" 
There  was  a  hearty  call  for  "Souwanas !" 
On  coming  in  from  investigating  the  weather,  but 
21 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

a  few  minutes  before,  Souwanas  had  seated  himself 
on  a  robe  and  was  now  enjoying  his  calumet,  or 
pipe.  Stoical  though  he  was,  his  dark  eyes  flashed 
with  pleasure  at  the  unanimous  call  of  the  children, 
but,  Indianlike,  it  would  have  been  a  great  breach 
of  manners  if  he  had  let  his  delight  be  known.  Then, 
again,  Indianlike,  it  would  never  have  done  to  have 
seemed  to  be  in  a  hurry.  The  Indian  children  well 
knew  this,  but  who  ever  heard  of  white  children  that 
could  sit  like  statues,  grave  and  dignified,  while  the 
story-teller  took  time  to  finish  smoking  a  large  pipe 
of  tobacco  ? 

So  it  was  in  this  case.  In  their  wild  excitement 
and  eagerness  to  have  the  story  begin,  both  Sagas- 
tao  and  Minnehaha  sprang  up  and,  rushing  toward 
Souwanas,  vied  with  each  other  in  seeing  which 
could  first  pluck  the  half-smoked  calumet  from  his 
mouth.  Such  audacity  appalled  the  Indian  children 
and  fairly  took  the  breath  away  from  the  older  In 
dians.  For  was  not  Souwanas  a  chief,  and  the  calu 
met  almost  a  sacred  thing  while  between  his  lips  ? 

Souwanas,  however,  was  greatly  delighted.  Here 
was  a  new  experience,  and  the  very  boldness  of  the 
children  of  the  palefaces  was  an  evidence  of  their 
unbounded  confidence  and  love.  To  little  Sagastao 
the  calumet  was  surrendered,  and,  with  the  children 
cuddled  around  him,  Souwanas  began  his  story: 

' 'Now,  you  must  know  that  Nanahboozhoo  was  a 
queer  fellow.  He  could  make  himself  as  tall  as  a 
tree  or  as  small  as  a  turtle  or  snake.  Nothing  could 
kill  him.  He  could  not  be  drowned  even  if  dropped 

22 


"With  the  children  cuddled  around  him  Souwanas  began  his  story.' 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

hundreds  of  feet  into  the  lake,  nor  burned  to  death 
even  if  he  tumbled  into  the  fire.  He  often  met  with 
accidents,  but  he  always  came  up  right  again  and 
was  ready  for  some  other  adventure  in  some  new 
shape.  He  has  left  his  marks  on  the  rocks  and  trees, 
leaves  and  flowers.  Almost  anywhere  we  look  we 
see  signs  that  Nanahboozhoo  has  been  around.  As 
his  temper  was  very  uncertain  he  sometimes  caused 
trouble  and  injured  the  appearance  of  things  which 
were  once  more  beautiful  than  they  are  now.  But 
in  general  he  was  the  friend  of  our  race  and  worked 
changes  that  were  for  our  good. 

"One  day,  as  Nanahboozhoo  was  walking  along 
on  a  sandy  shore,  he  felt  very  hungry.  It  was  now 
in  the  autumn  of  the  year.  As  he  wandered  on  he 
saw  an  object  moving  toward  him.  He  had  not 
long  to  wait  before  he  saw  that  this  object  was  a 
great  black  bear.  He  pulled  up  a  young  tree  by  the 
roots  and  hid  himself,  preparing  to  kill  the  bear 
when  he  should  come  near.  When  the  bear  came 
near  Nanahboozhoo  made  a  big  jump  out  of  his 
hiding  place  and  killed  the  bear  with  one  blow. 
Then  he  built  a  big  fire,  and  having  singed  all  the 
hair  off  the  bear  he  cut  him  up  and  nicely  roasted 
him.  When  the  meat  was  cooked  Nanahboozhoo 
cut  it  up  into  fine  pieces,  for  he  intended  to  enjoy 
his  feast  by  eating  leisurely. 

"While  he  was  thus  busy  preparing  his  feast  he 
was  annoyed  by  a  strange  sound  among  the  tree  tops 
that  rubbed  together  when  the  wind  blew.  Nanah 
boozhoo  was  very  quick-tempered,  and  as  the  noise 

23 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

continued  he  determined  to  stop  it.  So  he  left  his 
feast  on  the  ground  and  climbed  away  up  one  of 
those  trees  to  the  spot  where  the  other  pressed 
against  it.  He  was  endeavoring  to  pull  the  two 
great  trees  apart  when  one  of  his  hands  got  caught 
between  them  and  was  firmly  held.  While  strug 
gling  to  get  loose  he  heard  a  pack  of  wolves  running 
toward  his  bear  meat.  This  made  him  struggle  the 
harder  to  get  his  hand  free.  The  fierce  wolves  soon 
scented  the  food  and  had  a  good  time  devouring  it, 
in  spite  of  the  shoutings  of  Nanahboozhoo. 

"When  Nanahboozhoo  at  length  got  his  hand  free 
and  came  down  he  found  nothing  left  of  his  feast 
but  the  skull  of  the  bear.  He  was  very  angry,  not 
only  at  the  wolves  that  had  eaten  his  feast  but  also 
at  the  trees  that  had  held  him,  the  great  Nanah 
boozhoo,  in  so  tight  a  grip.  As  the  wolves  had  run 
away  he  could  not,  at  present,  punish  them,  but  he 
resolved  that-  he  would  so  punish  these  great  birch 
trees  that  they  would  never  give  him  such  a  squeeze 
again.  So  he  prepared  a  great  whip  and  with  it  he 
severely  thrashed  the  trees.  Up  to  this  time  the 
birch  had  been  the  most  beautiful  of  trees.  Its  great 
trunk  was  of  the  purest  white,  without  any  blemish 
or  blotch  upon  it.  But  ever  since  the  thrashing 
Nanahboozhoo  gave  it  it  has  had  to  carry  the  marks 
of  that  terrible  whipping ;  and  that  is  why  the  white 
birch  tree  is  so  covered  with  scars. 

"When  Nanahboozhoo  had  ceased  thrashing  the 
trees  he  found  himself  so  very  hungry  that  he  re 
solved  to  eat  the  brains  that  were  in  the  head  of  the, 

24 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

bear,  that  had  been  overlooked  by  the  wolves.  How 
ever,  he  found  the  skull  very  hard.  So  he  trans 
formed  himself  into  a  little  snake,  and  in  this  way 
got  inside  of  the  bear's  skull  and  enjoyed  his  feast. 
In  fact  he  enjoyed  it  too  much,  for  when  he  was 
through  with  his  eating  he  could  not  get  out  of  the 
skull,  he  was  so  full.  However,  he  was  able  to  roll 
along,  skull  and  all,  but  as  he  could  not  see  where 
he  was  going  he  bumped  along  in  a  very  erratic 
manner  until  at  length  he  tumbled  into  a  big  lake 
and  sank  at  first  deep  down  under  the  waves. 

"When  he  came  up  to  the  surface  he  just  put  a 
part  of  the  head  of  the  bear  out  of  the  water,  as  does 
the  bear  when  swimming.  Then  he  listened  in 
tently.  It  was  not  long  before  Nanahboozhoo  heard 
voices  saying : 

"  'Look !  There  is  a  bear  swimming.  Let  us  kill 
him/ 

"So  there  was  a  chase  on  the  lake,  and  it  was 
not  long  before  the  Indians  came  up,  in  their  canoe, 
and  one  of  them  with  his  stone  ax  struck  the  bear's 
head  such  a  blow  that  he  split  open  the  skull. 

"This  just  suited  Nanahboozhoo,  and  instantly 
he  sprang  out  and  made  for  the  shore. 

"Then  Nanahboozhoo  journeyed  on  and  again  he 
began  to  feel  very  hungry.  The  brains  of  the  bear 
were  not  much  to  one  who  had  had  his  mind  set  on 
eating  the  whole  carcass.  It  was  not  long  before  he 
met  the  raccoon  awkwardly  carrying  a  birch  rogan 
that  he  had  stolen  from  a  couple  of  blind  men.  See 
ing  the  merry  smile  on  the  raccoon's  face,  Nanah- 

25 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

boozhoo  bade  him  a  good  day,  and  asked  him  what 
was  amusing  him. 

"The  raccoon,  who  did  not  know  that  it  was 
Nanahboozhoo  with  whom  he  was  talking,  told 
him  how  he  obtained  the  dish.  When  Nanahbooz 
hoo  heard  this  he  was  very  angry  at  the  raccoon  for 
his  heartless  trick. 

"It  seems  that  there  was  quite  a  large  settlement 
of  people  who  had  among  them  a  couple  of  blind 
men.  As  these  Indians  were  hunters  they  had  to  be 
on  the  move  a  good  deal  of  the  time  following  the 
game.  As  the  other  people  were  kind-hearted,  in 
stead  of  killing  these  old  blind  men,  now  that  they 
were  unable  to  hunt,  they  arranged  for  them  a  wig 
wam  in  a  safe,  quiet  place,  near  the  lake.  Then 
they  gave  them  a  kettle  and  bowl  and  other  neces 
sary  things  and  cut  a  large  pile  of  wood  and  placed 
it  close  at  hand.  In  order  that  they  might  be  able 
to  get  water  for  their  cooking  and  yet  not  stumble 
into  the  water  their  friends  fastened  a  rope,  for  their 
guidance,  from  the  door  of  the  wigwam  to  a  post  on 
the  edge  of  the  lake. 

"The  old  men  were  now  quite  comfortable.  Their 
friends  came  frequently  with  abundant  supplies  of 
food  and  the  blind  men  were  able  to  do  their  own 
work  and  were  happy  together.  They  divided  the 
day's  work  so  that  one  day  one  would  be  the  cook 
while  the  other  would  bring  in  the  wood  and  go  for 
the  water.  Next  day  they  would  change  about.  It 
gave  each  enough  to  do,  and  not  too  much. 

"For  a  long  time  the  two  men  lived  contented  and 
26 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

happy.  But  it  happened  that  one  day  the  raccoon 
was  out  prowling  along  the  shore,  looking  for  some 
thing  to  eat,  when  he  happened  to  find  the  end  of  the 
rope  that  was  tied  to  the  post  at  the  water's  edge. 

"Now  you  must  know,"  said  Souwanas,  "that, 
next  to  the  wolverine,  the  raccoon  is  the  biggest 
mischief  in  the  woods.  He  is  full  of  tricks, 
but  he  is  very  cunning  and  suspicious.  So  be 
fore  he  interfered  with  the  rope  he  cautiously 
followed  it  up  and  found  that  its  other  end  was  at 
the  wigwam  of  these  two  old  blind  men.  Hearing 
no  noise,  he  cautiously  peered  into  the  wigwam  and 
saw  them  both  sleeping  near  the  fire.  There  was  a 
smell  of  something  good  to  eat,  and  the  raccoon  de 
cided  to  wait  around  to  see  if  he  could  not  get  hold 
of  it. 

"While  he  was  thus  waiting  the  old  men  woke 
up,  and  one  said  to  the  other,  'My  brother,  I  am  feel 
ing  hungry ;  let  us  prepare  our  dinner.' 

"  'Very  well,'  said  the  other;  'it  is  your  turn  to 
go  to  the  lake  for  water  while  I  make  the  fire.' 

"When  the  raccoon  heard  this  he  ran  down  to 
the  lake  and  quickly  untied  the  rope  from  the  stake 
and,  drawing  it  back,  tied  it  to  a  clump  of  bushes  on 
the  land.  When  the  old  man  with  the  kettle  felt  his 
way  along  the  rope  until  he  reached  its  end  he  tried 
to  dip  up  the  water  as  usual,  but  all  in  vain.  There 
was  nothing  but  the  dry  earth  and  bushes.  Not 
finding  any  water  he  returned  to  his  brother  with  the 
sad  news  that  the  lake  had  dried  up,  and  that  already 
bushes  were  growing  where  yesterday  there  was 

27 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

plenty  of  water.    When  his  brother  heard  this  dole 
ful  story  he  laughed  at  it,  and  said : 

"  Why,  that  cannot  be  possible.  No  bushes  could 
grow  up  in  such  a  short  time.' 

"However  his  brother  declared  it  was  the  case, 
and  so  the  other  one  said,  'Well,  let  me  go,  and  see 
if  I  can  find  some  water.' 

"When  the  tricky  raccoon  heard  this  he  hurried 
back  and  at  once  untied  the  rope  from  the  bushes 
and  refastened  it  to  the  post  near  the  water.  When 
the  second  brother  came  along  he  easily  found  the 
water,  and  filling  the  kettle  he  returned  to  the  wig 
wam  where  he  vigorously  accused  his  brother  of 
lying.  He,  poor  fellow,  could  not  understand  it  and 
was  much  perplexed. 

"The  preparation  of  their  dinner  went  on,  and 
soon  it  was  ready.  There  was,  however,  another  one 
present  that  the  blind  men  had  no  suspicion  of,  and 
that  was  the  raccoon,  who  had  now  noiselessly  come 
into  the  wigwam  and  greedily  sat  watching  the  prep 
arations.  This  dinner  consisted  of  eight  pieces  of 
meat  which,  when  cooked,  were  placed  in  their 
rogan,  or  wooden  bowl.  When  ready  they  sat 
down  with  this  bowl  between  them  and  began 
to  eat.  Each  took  a  piece  of  meat,  and  they  talked 
of  various  things  while  they  ate. 

The  raccoon  now  noiselessly  took  four  of  the 
pieces  of  meat  out  of  the  bowl  and  began  eating- 
them.  Soon  one  of  the  men  reached  into  the  bowl, 
to  get  another  piece  of  meat,  and  finding  only  two 
pieces  left,  he  said : 

28 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

"  'My  brother,  you  must  be  very  hungry,  to  eat 
so  fast.  I  have  only  had  one  piece  of  meat,  and 
there  are  only  two  left.' 

"  'I  have  not  taken  them/  was  the  reply,  'but  I 
suspect  that  you  are  the  greedy  one  who  has  eaten 
them.' 

'This  made  the  other  brother  very  angry,  and  as 
they  thus  went  on  arguing,  the  raccoon,  to  make 
matters  worse,  and  to  have,  as  he  told  Nanahbooz- 
hoo,  some  more  sport  with  the  old  blind  fellows, 
hit  each  of  them  a  smart  blow  on  the  face.  The  poor 
old  men,  each  believing  that  the  other  had  struck 
him,  began  to  fight;  and  so  they  upset  the  rogan 
and  lost  the  rest  of  their  dinner  and  nearly  set  the 
wigwam  on  fire. 

"The  raccoon  then  seized  the  two  remaining 
pieces  of  meat  and  the  bowl,  and,  with  shouts 
of  laughter,  rushed  out  of  the  wigwam.  The  old 
men,  hearing  this,  perceived  that  they  had  been 
fooled,  and  they  at  once  stopped  fighting  and  apolo 
gized  to  each  other. 

"The  raccoon's  rascally  trick  made  Nanahboozhoo 
very  angry.  Indeed  he  had  had  a  good  deal  of 
trouble  to  keep  from  letting  the  raccoon  know  who 
he  was.  So  just  as  soon  as  the  raccoon  had  finished 
he  said : 

"  'I  am  Nanahboozhoo.  Those  old  blind  men  are 
my  brothers,  and  I'll  teach  you  a  lesson  you  will 
never  forget !' 

"So  he  seized  the  raccoon  and  killed  him,  and 
carried  his  body  back  to  the  tent  of  the  blind  men 

29 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

and  made  out  of  it  a  great  feast  for  them,  and  de 
clared  that  in  future  the  old  raccoons  should  have 
to  carry  as  many  circles  on  their  tails  as  pieces  of 
meat  that  had  been  stolen  out  of  the  rogan  of  the 
blind  men." 

"Good  for  Nanahboozhoo !"  shouted  Sagastao. 
"Mr.  Raccoon  couldn't  play  any  tricks  on  him.  Now 
tell  us  another  story." 

But  here  Minnehaha  interposed. 

"I  think,"  said  she,  "we  had  better  go  home  now, 
for  father  and  mother  may  begin  to  think  they  have 
lost  their  little  ones." 

"Let  us  wait  until  dark,"  said  Sagastao,  "and 
then  Mary  won't  see  our  dirty  clothes!"  For  their 
greasy  fingers  had  soiled  them  badly. 

The  wishes  of  the  little  girl,  however,  prevailed, 
and  so  it  was  not  long  ere  the  Indian  salutations, 
"Wat  cheer!  Wat  cheer!"  were  shouted  to  all, 
and  once  more  the  two  children  were  hoisted  upon 
the  shoulders  of  the  big  Indians,  and  in  the  same 
manner  in  which  they  had  been  brought  to  the  wig 
wam  in  the  forenoon  they  rode  home  in  the  beautiful 
gloaming. 

Very  tired  were  they,  yet  not  so  weary  but  that 
they  were  able  with  their  little  hands  to  rub  some 
of  the  paint  off  the  faces  of  their  big  stalwart  car 
riers  and  daub  it  on  their  own.  The  effect  was  so 
ludicrous  that  their  merry  laughter  reached  the  ears 
of  their  expectant  parents  even  before  they  emerged 
from  the  gloom  of  the  forest. 

30 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 


CHAPTER    II. 

The  Children's  Return — Indignation  of  Mary,  the  Indian 
Nurse — Her  Pathetic  History — Her  Love  for  the  Children — 
The  Story  of  Wakonda,  and  of  the  Origin  of  Mosquitoes. 

N.  reaching  home  the  children  were 
quietly  received  by  their  par 
ents,  who,  understanding  In 
dian  ways,  had  no  desire  to 
lessen  their  influence  by  find 
ing  fault  with  them  for  carry 
ing   off   the   children.      They 
treated  the  matter  as  though  it  were 
one  of  everyday  occurrence. 

Mary,  the  Indian  nurse,  however, 
did  not  regard  the  incident  so  calmly. 
When  the  children  were  brought 
back  dirty,  greasy,  bedaubed,  and  so  tired  that  they 
could  hardly  hold  up  their  little  heads,  her  indigna 
tion  knew  no  bounds,  and  as  she  was  perfectly  fear 
less  she  couched  her  sentiments  in  the  most  vigorous 
phrases  of  the  expressive  Cree  language. 

The  history  of  Indian  Mary  was  very  strange. 
Indeed  there  was  an  incident  in  her  life  so  sad  that 
from  the  day  of  her  recovery  she  was  considered  to 
be  under  the  special  care  of  the  Good  Spirit,  so  that 
even  the  most  influential  chiefs  or  hunters  had  a 
superstitious  fear  of  showing  any  temper,  or  making 
any  bitter  retort,  no  matter  what  she  might  say. 

31 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

Years  before  this  time  Mary  was  the  wife  of  a 
cruel  pagan  Indian  who  bore  the  English  name  of 
Robinson.  Although  she  was  slight  of  figure,  and 
never  very  strong,  he  exacted  from  Mary  a  great 
deal  of  hard  work  and  was  vexed  and  angry  if,  when 
heavily  burdened  with  the  game  he  had  shot,  she 
did  not  move  as  rapidly  along  on  the  trail  as  he  did, 
carrying  only  his  gun  and  ammunition. 

Once,  when  they  were  out  in  the  woods  some 
miles  from  his  wigwam,  he  shot  a  full-grown  deer 
and  ordered  her  to  bring  it  into  the  camp  on  her 
back.  Picking  up  his  gun  he  started  on  ahead,  and 
being  a  large,  stalwart  man,  and  moving  with  the 
usual  rapidity  of  the  Indians  on  the  homeward  trail, 
he  soon  reached  his  wigwam.  Unfortunately  for 
him — and,  as  it  turned  out,  for  Mary  also — he  found 
some  free-traders*  at  his  abode  awaiting  his  return. 
They  had  few  goods  for  trade  in  their  outfit,  but 
they  had  a  keg  of  fire  water,  which  has  ever  been 
the  scourge  of  the  Indians. 

Robinson  informed  them  of  his  success  in  shoot 
ing  the  deer  and  that  it  was  even  now  being  brought 
in.  The  traders  not  only  purchased  what  furs  Rob 
inson  had  on  hand  but  also  the  two  hind  quarters 
of  the  deer  which  Mary  was  bringing  home.  Rob 
inson  at  once  began  drinking  the  fire  water  which 
he  had  received  as  part  payment. 

He  was  naturally  irritable,  and  short-tempered 
even  when  sober,  but  he  was  much  more  so  when 
under  the  influence  of  spirituous  liquors.  The  un- 

*  Fur  buyers  who  were  not  agents  of  the  Fur  Company. 
32 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

principled  traders,  knowing  this,  and  wishing  to  see 
him  in  one  of  his  tantrums,  began  in  a  bantering 
way  to  question  whether  he  had  really  shot  a  deer, 
since  his  wife  was  so  long  in  coming  with  it. 

This  made  him  simply  furious,  and  when  Mary 
did  at  length  arrive,  laboring  under  the  two-hun 
dred-pound  deer,  she  was  met  by  her  husband  now 
wild  with  passion  and  the  white  man's  fire  water. 
Little  suspecting  danger  she  threw  the  deer  from"  her 
shoulders,  where  it  had  been  supported  by  the  carry 
ing  strap  across  her  forehead.  Weary  and  panting, 
she  turned  to  go  into  the  wigwam  for  her  skinning 
knife,  but  ere  she  had  gone  a  dozen  steps  she  was 
startled  by  a  yell  from  Robinson  which  caused  her 
instantly  to  turn  and  face  him.  The  sight  that  met 
her  eyes  was  appalling.  Before  her  stood  her  hus 
band  with  an  uplifted  gleaming  ax  in  his  hands 
and  curses  on  his  tongue.  Seeing  that  there  was  no 
chance  to  fly  from  him  she  threw  herself  toward 
him,  hoping  thereby  to  escape  the  blow.  She  suc 
ceeded  in  saving  her  head,  but  the  ax  buried  itself 
in  her  spine. 

Mary's  piercing  screams  speedily  brought  a  num 
ber  of  Indians  from  neighboring  wigwams.  When 
they  found  poor  Mary  lying  there  in  agony,  with 
the  ax  still  imbedded  in  the  bones  of  her  back,  their 
indignation  knew  no  bounds. 

Indians,  as  a  rule,  have  great  self-control,  but  this 
sight  so  stirred  them  that  there  was  very  nearly  a 
lynching.  Robinson,  now  sobered  by  his  fears, 
clearly  foresaw  that  terrible  would  be  his  punish- 

33 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

ment,  and  while  the  Indians  and  traders  turned  to 
attend  to  Mary's  wounds  the  wretched  husband 
stealthily  slipped  away  into  the  forest  and  was  never 
again  seen  there.  Rumors,  however,  at  length 
reached  Mary  that  he  had  fled  away  to  the  dis 
tant  Kaministiquia  River,  where  for  a  time  he  lived, 
solitary  and  alone,  in  a  little  bark  wigwam.  One 
day,  when  out  shooting  in  his  canoe,  he  was  caught 
in  some  treacherous  rapids  and  carried  over  the  wild 
and  picturesque  Ka-ka-be-ka  Falls,  about  which  so 
many  thrilling  Indian  legends  cluster. 

For  seven  years  Mary  was  a  helpless  invalid. 
When  she  did  recover  her  back  had  so  curved  that 
she  looked  like  a  hunchback.  As  she  was  poor,  and 
utterly  unable  either  to  hunt  or  to  fish,  we  helped  her 
in  various  ways.  She  was  always  grateful  for  kind 
ness,  and  in  return  was  very  willing  to  do  what  she 
could  for  us.  She  was  exceedingly  clever  with  her 
needle,  and  with  a  little  instruction  was  soon  able 
to  assist  with  the  sewing  required.  However,  what 
especially  won  her  to  us  and  gave  her  a  permanent 
place  in  our  home,  was  her  great  love  and  devotion 
to  our  little  ones. 

Little  Sagastao  was  only  a  few  months  old  when 
she  installed  herself  as  his  nurse,  and  for  years  she 
was  a  most  watchful  and  devoted  as  well  as  self- 
sacrificing  guardian  of  our  children  in  that  Northern 
home.  She  seemed  to  live  and  think  solely  for  them. 
At  times,  especially  in  the  matter  of  parental  dis 
cipline,  there  would  be  collisions  between  Mary  and 
the  mother  of  the  children ;  for  the  nurse,  with  her 

34 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

Indian  ideas,  could  not  accept  of  the  position  of  a 
disciplined  servant,  nor  could  she  quietly  witness 
the  punishment  of  children  whom  she  thought  abso 
lutely  perfect.  Hence,  if  she  could  not  have  things 
exactly  as  she  wanted  them,  Mary  would  now  and 
then  allow  her  fiery  temper  to  obtain  the  mastery, 
and  springing  up  in  a  rage  and  throwing  a  shawl 
over  her  head  she  would  fly  out  of  the  house  and 
be  gone  for  days. 

Her  mistress  paid  no  attention  to  these  outbursts. 
She  well  knew  that  when  Mary  had  cooled  down 
she  would  return,  and  it  was  often  amusing  to  see 
the  way  in  which  she  would  attract  the  children's  at 
tention  to  her,  peering  around  tree  or  corner,  and 
then  come  meekly  walking  in  with  them  as  though 
they  had  only  been  for  a  pleasant  outing  of  an  hour 
or  so. 

"Well,  Mary,"  would  be  the  greeting  of  her  mis 
tress,  while  Mary's  quiet  response  would  be  the  In 
dian  greeting  of,  "Wat  cheer!" 

Then  things  would  go  on  as  usual  for  perhaps  an 
other  six  months,  when  Mary  would  indulge  again 
in  one  of  her  tantrums,  with  the  same  happy  results. 

She  dressed  the  children  in  picturesque  Indian 
costumes — coats,  dresses,  leggings,  moccasins,  and 
other  articles  of  apparel  of  deer  skin,  tanned  as  soft 
as  kid,  and  beautifully  embroidered  with  silk  and 
bead  work.  Not  a  spot  could  appear  upon  their  gar 
ments  without  Mary's  notice,  and  as  she  always 
kept  changes  ready  she  was  frequently  disrobing  and 
dressing  them  up. 

35 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

When  Souwanas  and  Jakoos  came  that  morning 
and  picked  up  the  children  Mary  happened  to  be  in 
another  room.  Had  she  been  present  she  would 
doubtless  have  interfered  in  their  movements.  As 
it  was,  when  she  missed  the  children  her  indigna 
tion  knew  no  bounds,  and  only  the  most  emphatic 
commands  of  her  mistress  restrained  her  from  rush 
ing  after  them.  All  day  long  she  had  to  content 
herself  with  muttering  her  protests  while,  as  usual, 
she  was  busily  employed  with  her  needle.  When, 
however,  the  two  stalwart  Indians  returned  in  the 
evening  with  the  children  on  their  shoulders  the 
storm  broke,  and  Mary's  murmurings,  at  first  mere 
protests,  became  loud  and  furious  when  the  happy 
children,  so  tired  and  dirty,  were  set  down  before 
her.  The  Indians,  knowing  of  the  sad  tragedy  in 
Mary's  life,  would  not  show  anger  or  even  annoy 
ance  under  her  scathing  words,  but,  with  the  stoical 
nature  of  their  race,  they  quietly  endured  her  wrath. 
This  they  were  much  better  prepared  to  do  since 
neither  of  the  parents  of  the  white  children  seemed 
in  the  slightest  degree  disturbed  by  their  long 
absence  or  the  tirade  of  the  indignant  nurse.  With 
high-bred  courtesy  they  patiently  listened  to  all  that 
Mary  had  to  say,  and  when  the  storm  had  spent 
itself  they  turned  and  noiselessly  retired. 

The  children  were  worn  out  with  their  day's  ad 
venture,  and  their  mother  intimated  that  Mary  ought 
at  once  to  bathe  them  and  put  them  to  bed.  This, 
however,  did  not  satisfy  Mary.  It  had  become  her 
custom  to  dress  them  up  in  the  afternoons  and  keep 

36 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

them  appareled  in  their  brightest  costumes  during 
the  rest  of  the  day;  therefore  now  the  weary  chil 
dren,  after  being  bathed,  were  again  dressed  in  their 
best  and  brought  out  for  inspection  and  a  light  sup 
per  before  retiring.  The  bath  and  the  supper  had 
so  refreshed  them  that  when  Mary  had  tucked  them 
into  their  beds  they  were  wide  awake  and  asked  her 
to  tell  them  a  story.  But  sleep  was  what  they 
needed  now  more  than  anything  else,  and  she  tried 
to  quiet  them  without  any  further  words,  but  so 
thoroughly  aroused  were  they  that  they  declared 
that  if  she  refused  they  knew  somebody  who  would 
be  glad  to  have  them  visit  him  again,  and  that  he 
would  tell  them  lots  of  beautiful  things. 

This  hint  that  they  might  return  to  the  wigwam 
of  Souwanas  was  too  much  for  Mary,  who  very 
freely  gave  utterance  to  her  sentiments  about  him. 
The  children  gallantly  came  to  the  defense  of  the 
old  Indian  and  also  of  Nanahboozhoo,  of  whom 
Mary  spoke  most  slightingly,  saying  that  he  was  a 
mean  fellow  who  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  many  of 
his  tricks. 

"Well,"  replied  Sagastao,  "if  you  will  tell  us  bet 
ter  stories  than  those  Souwanas  can  tell  us  about 
Nanahboozhoo,  all  right,  we  will  listen  to  them.  But, 
mind  you,  we  are  going  to  hear  his  Nanahboozhoo 
stories  too." 

"O,  indeed,"  said  Mary,  with  a  contemptuous 
toss  of  her  head,  "there  are  many  stories  better  than 
those  of  his  old  Nanahboozhoo." 

"Won't  it  be  fun  to  see  whose  stories  we  like  the 
37 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

best,  Mary's  or  Souwanas's !"  said  Minnehaha,  who 
foresaw  an  interesting  rivalry. 

Mary  had  now  committed  herself,  and  so,  almost 
without  realizing  what  it  would  come  to,  she  found 
herself  pitted  against  Souwanas,  the  great  story 
teller  of  the  tribe.  However,  being  determined  that 
Souwanas  should  not  rob  her  of  the  love  of  the  chil 
dren,  she  was  tempted  to  begin  her  story-telling  even 
though  the  children  were  exhausted,  and  so  it  was 
that  when  the  lad  asked  a  question  Mary  was  ready. 

"Say,  Mary,"  said  Sagastao,  "the  mosquitoes  bit 
us  badly  to-day.  Do  you  know  why  it  is  that  there 
are  such  troublesome  little  things?  Is  there  any 
story  about  them?" 

"Yes.  Wakonda,  one  of  the  strange  spirits,  sent 
them,"  said  Mary,  "because  a  woman  was  lazy  and 
would  not  keep  the  clothes  of  her  husband  and 
children  clean  and  nice." 

"Tell  us  all  about  it,"  they  both  cried  out. 

Mary  quieted  them,  and  began  the  story. 

"Long  ago,  when  the  people  all  dressed  in  deer 
skins,  there  was  a  man  whose  name  was  Pug-a- 
mah-kon.  He  was  an  industrious  fellow,  and  had 
often  to  work  a  good  deal  in  dirty  places.  The  re 
sult  was  that,  although  he  had  several  suits  of 
clothes,  he  seemed  never  to  have  any  clean  ones. 

"It  was  the  duty  of  his  wife  to  scrape  and  clean 
his  garments  and  wash  and  resmoke  them  as  often 
as  they  needed  it.  But  she  neglected  her  work  and 
would  go  off  gossiping  among  her  neighbors.  Her 
husband  was  patient  with  her  for  a  time,  but  at 

38 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

length,  when  he  heard  that  Wakonda  was  coming 
to  pay  a  visit  to  the  people,  to  see  how  they  were  get 
ting  along,  he  began  to  bestir  himself  so  as  to  be 
decently  attired,  in  clean,  handsome  apparel,  to  meet 
this  powerful  being,  who  was  able  to  confer  great 
favors  on  him,  or,  if  ill-disposed,  to  injure  him 
greatly. 

"He  endeavored  to  get  his  wife  to  go  to  work 
and  remove  the  dirt  that  had  gathered  on  his  gar 
ments.  She  was  so  lazy  that  it  was  only  from  fear 
of  a  beating  that  she  ever  did  make  any  attempt  to 
do  as  he  desired.  She  took  the  garments  and  began 
to  clean  them,  but  she  was  in  a  bad  humor  and  did 
her  work  in  such  a  slovenly  and  half-hearted  way 
that  there  was  but  very  little  change  for  the  better 
after  the  pretended  cleaning. 

"When  the  news  was  circulated  that  Wakonda 
was  coming,  the  husband  prepared  to  dress  him 
self  in  his  best  apparel,  but  great  indeed  was  his 
anger  and  disgust  when  he  found  that  the  garments 
which  he  had  hoped  to  wear  were  still  disgracefully 
grimy. 

"While  the  angry  husband  was  chiding  the  wom 
an  for  her  indolence  Wakonda  suddenly  appeared. 
To  him  the  man  appealed,  and  asked  for  his  advice 
in  the  matter. 

"Wakonda  quickly  responded,  and  said :  'A  lazy, 
gossiping  wife  is  not  only  a  disgrace  to  her  husband, 
she  is  annoying  to  all  around  her;  and  so  it  will  be 
in  this  case/ 

"Then  Wakonda  told  her  husband  to  take  some 

39 


,  ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

of  the  dirt  which  still  clung  to  his  garments,  which 
she  was  supposed  to  have  cleansed,  and  to  throw  it 
at  her.  This  the  man  did,  and  the  particles  of  dirt 
at  once  changed  into  mosquitoes.  And  so,  ever 
since,  especially  in  the  warm  days  and  nights 
of  early  summer  when  the  mosquitoes  with  their 
singing  and  stinging  come  around  to  trouble  us, 
we  are  reminded  of  this  lazy,  slovenly  woman,  who 
was  not  only  a  trial  to  her  husband,  but  by  her  lack 
of  industry  and  care  brought  such  a  scourge  upon 
all  the  people." 

"Didn't  Wakonda  do  anything  else?"  murmured 
the  little  lad;  but  that  blessed  thing  called  sleep 
now  enfolded  both  the  little  ones,  and  with  mutter- 
ings  of  "Nanahboozhoo — Wakonda — Souwanas — 
Mary" — they  were  soon  far  away  in  childhood's 
happy  dreamland. 


40 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 


CHAPTER    III. 

More  about  Mary  and  the  Chil 
dren — Minnehaha  Stung  by  the 
Bees— How  the  Bees  Got 
Their  Stings  — What  Hap 
pened  to  the  Bears  that 
Tried  to  Steal  the  Honey. 

HE  next  morning  while  Mary  was 
dressing  them  the  children  told  her 
of  their  adventures  in  the  wigwam  of  the  In 
dians.  Mary  was  really  interested,  though 
she  pretended  to  be  disgusted  at  the  whole 
thing,  and  professed,  in  her  Indian  way,  to  be 
quite  shocked  when  they  both  confidentially  in 
formed  her  that  they  had  had  such  a  good  time 
that  they  were  going  again  even  if  they  had  to  run 
away  and  be  whipped  for  it. 

This  was  terrible  news  for  Mary,  and  placed  her 
in  an  awkward  position.  To  tell  the  parents  of  the 
children's  resolve  was  something  she  would  never 
do,  as  it  might  bring  down  upon  them  some  of  the 
punishment  which  was  quite  contrary  to  her  prin 
ciples.  Yet,  on  the  other  hand,  to  let  them  go  and 
to  give  no  information  might  cause  more  trouble 
than  she  liked  to  think  of. 

Neither  could  she  bear  the  thought  of  the  two  chil 
dren  returning  from  another  day's  outing  with  their 
neat  clothing  and  pretty  faces  soiled  and  dirty.  Do 

41 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

as  they  might,  she  had  never  once  informed  on  them, 
and  she  had  no  mind  to  begin  now.  She  earnestly 
pleaded  with  them  not  to  cany  out  their  resolve. 
The  little  ones  were  shrewd  enough  to  see  that  they 
had  thoroughly  alarmed  her,  and  they  were  in  no 
hurry  to  surrender  the  power  which  they  saw  they 
had  over  her. 

Mary  never  said  a  word  in  English.  She  under 
stood  a  good  deal  that  others  said,  but  she  never 
expressed  herself  in  other  than  the  Indian  language. 
Hence  both  little  Sagastao  and  Minnehaha  always 
talked  with  her  in  her  own  tongue. 

Minnehaha,  seeing  Mary's  anxiety  at  their  de 
termination  to  run  away  to  the  Indians,  thought  of 
compromising  the  matter  by  insisting  that  Mary 
should  tell  them  more  tales.  If  she  would  do  this 
they  "would  not  run  away  very  soon;"  especially 
did  she  emphasize  the  'Very  soon."  This  was  hardly 
satisfactory  to  Mary,  but  as  it  was  the  best  promise 
she  could  get  she  was  obliged  to  consent. 

Little  Sagastao,  who  was  Mary's  favorite,  once 
more  unsettled  her  when  he  said,  "Now,  Mary,  re 
member,  we  have  only  promised  not  to  run  away 
very  soon.  That  means  that  we  intend  to  do  it  some 
time." 

It  seems  that  the  little  conspirators  had  talked  it 
all  over  in  the  morning  in  their  beds,  and  had  de 
cided  how  they  would  get  stories  out  of  Mary  with 
out  really  promising  not  to  run  away  to  the  wigwam 
of  Somvanas. 

The  children,  being  dressed,  were  taken  down  by 
42 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

Mary  to  prayers  and  breakfast,  after  which  an  hour 
was  allowed  in  summer-time  for  outdoor  amusement 
before  the  lessons  began.  Little  Sagastao  gener 
ally  spent  his  hour,  either  with  his  father  or  some 
trusty  Indian,  playing  with  and  watching  the  gam 
bols  of  the  great  dogs,  of  which  not  a  few  were  kept 
at  that  mission  home.  Minnehaha  was  with  her 
mother,  and  was  interested  in  the  bestowal  of 
gifts  to  the  poor  widows  and  children  who  gen 
erally  came  at  that  hour. 

Owing  to  the  isolated  situation  of  the  mission, 
and  the  fact  that  there  were  no  organized  schools 
within  hundreds  of  miles,  some  hours  of  the  fore 
noon  were  devoted  to  the  education  of  the  children 
in  the  home.  The  afternoons,  according  to  the  sea 
son,  were  devoted  to  reading  and  amusement. 

Mary,  the  nurse,  while  able  to  read  fluently  in  the 
Cree  syllabics,  had  no  knowledge  of  English.  As 
the  children's  education  progressed  they  wanted  to 
teach  Mary.  She  stubbornly  resisted,  however,  de 
claring  that  if  they  taught  her  to  read  English  they 
would  want  to  make  her  talk  it. 

The  mother  noted  the  unusual  expectancy  mani 
fested  by  the  children  during  the  day,  and  on  inquir 
ing  the  reason  was  promptly  informed  that  Mary 
had  promised  to  tell  them  a  story,  or  legend,  and 
"had  got  to  do  it." 

"Why  has  she  got  to  do  it?"  said  the  loving 
mother,  struck  with  the  emphasis  which  they  had 
placed  on  the  word. 

The  little  mischiefs  were  cunning  enough  to  see 

43 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

that  they  had  nearly  run  themselves  into  trouble, 
and  were  wisely  silent.  Mary  also  noticed  this,  and 
at  once  her  great  loyalty  to  the  little  folk  manifested 
itself,  and  quickly  turning  to  her  mistress  she  said, 
with  an  emphasis  which  was  quite  unusual : 

''Mary  has  promised  them  a  story,  and  as  she 
always  keeps  her  word  she  has  got  to  tell  it." 

Saying  this  she  quickly  sprang  from  the  floor, 
where  she  had  been  sitting,  and  taking  a  child  by 
each  hand  she  marched  with  them  out  of  the  room. 

"Hurrah  for  you,  Mary !  you  saved  us  that  time," 
said  little  Sagastao. 

Mary  would  not  have  been  sorry  if  in  some  way 
the  parents  received  an  inkling  of  what  was  in  the 
minds  of  the  children,  yet  she  had  such  peculiar 
ideas  that  she  would  never  herself  be  the  one  to 
convey  that  information. 

During  the  brief  summer  months  the  pleasantest 
walks  were  along  the  shores  of  the  lake.  Many 
were  the  cosy  little  cave-like  retreats  where  Mary 
often  led  the  children.  There,  with  the  sunlit  waters 
before  them,  and  the  rippling  waves  making  music 
at  their  feet,  the  old  nurse  crooned  out  many  an 
Indian  legend  or  exciting  story  about  the  red  men 
of  the  past.  To-day,  however,  she  was  perplexed 
by  the  attitude  of  the  children  and  could  not  select 
any  story  that  she  thought  of  sufficient  interest  to 
divert  their  minds  from  Souwanas  and  Nanahbooz- 
hoo.  So  for  a  time  they  wandered  on  along  the 
pleasant  shore,  or  turned  aside  to  gather  the  brilliant 
wild  flowers. 

44 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

A  scream  of  pain  from  Minnehaha  interrupted 
their  pleasure.  In  gathering  some  wild  lilies  she 
was  stung  on  both  hands  by  some  honey  bees  that 
were  in  the  flowers.  Mary  quickly  made  a  batter 
of  clay  and  bound  up  the  wounded  hands  in  it. 
Then  she  sat  down  and  took  the  child  in  her  lap. 

"Naughty  bees  to  sting  me  like  this,"  said  Min 
nehaha,  with  tears  streaming  down  her  cheeks.  "I 
was  not  doing  them  any  harm." 

"Yes,  you  were,  and  so  were  we  all,"  said  the 
brother.  "We  were  carrying  off  the  flowers  from 
which  they  get  their  honey,  which  is  their  food." 

"Well,  they  might  let  us  have  a  few  flowers  with 
out  stinging  us,"  replied  Minnehaha. 

The  intense  pain  of  the  stings  rapidly  abated  un 
der  Mary's  homely  but  skillful  treatment,  and  as 
the  child  still  retained  her  place  in  Mary's  lap  she 
said, 

"Can  you  tell  us  why  such  pretty  little  things  as 
bees  have  such  terrible  stings?  My  hands  felt  as 
if  they  were  on  fire  when  I  was  first  stung,  and  I 
could  not  help  crying  out  with  the  pain." 

"Well,"  said  Mary,  "there  was  a  time  when  the 
bees  had  no  stings,  and  they  were  as  harmless  as  the 
house  flies.  They  were  just  as  industrious  as  they 
are  now,  but  they  had  any  amount  of  trouble  in 
keeping  their  honey  from  being  stolen  from  them, 
for  every  creature  loves  it. 

"In  vain  they  hid  their  combs  away  up  in  hollow 
trees  and  in  the  clefts  of  high  rocks.  The  bears, 
which  are  very  fond  of  honey,  were  ever  on  the  look- 

45 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

out  for  it,  and  were  very  clever  in  getting  it  when 
once  they  found  where  it  was  hidden  away.  Birds 
with  long  beaks  would  suck  it  out,  and  even  the  lit 
tle  squirrels  were  always  stealing  it.  The  result  was 
that  whole  swarms  often  starved  in  the  long  winters, 
because  all  their  honey,  which  is  their  winter  food, 
was  stolen  from  them.  The  bees  were  in  danger  of 
being  destroyed.  They  gave  up  working  in  great 
numbers  together,  and  scattered  into  little  com 
panies,  and  in  the  most  secret  places  tried  to 
store  away  a  little  honey,  just  enough  to  keep  them 
alive  from  season  to  season.  But  even  these  little 
hives  were  often  discovered  and  the  honey  devoured. 

'Things  had  come  to  such  a  pass  with  them  that 
they  had  almost  given  up  hope  of  lasting  much 
longer. 

"Fortunately  for  them,  word  was  circulated  that 
Wakonda,  the  strong  spirit — the  one  who  sent  the 
mosquitoes — was  coming  around  on  a  tour,  to  see 
how  everything  was  progressing.  He  was  greater 
than  even  Nanahboozhoo,  and  was  perhaps  a  rela 
tive  of  his,  but  he  very  seldom  appeared,  or  did  any 
thing  for  anyone.  However,  it  happened  that  he 
had  this  year  left  his  beautiful  home  at  Spirit  Lake 
and  was  journeying  through  the  country,  and  he 
was  willing  to  help  all  who  were  in  real  distress. 

"So  the  bees  resolved  to  apply  to  him  for  help. 
Wakonda  received  them  very  graciously,  and  ate 
heartily  of  the  present  of  beautiful  honey  which 
some  of  them  had  made  and  had  succeeded  in  keep 
ing  out  of  the  way  of  bears  and  their  other  enemies. 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

"When  his  feast  of  honey  was  over  he  listened 
to  their  tales  of  sorrow  and  woe.  He  was  indig 
nant  when  he  heard  of  the  numbers  of  their  enemies, 
and  of  the  persistency  of  their  attacks  upon  such 
industrious  little  creatures. 

"For  a  time  Wakonda  was  uncertain  as  to  the 
best  method  to  adopt  to  help  them.  He  dismissed 
them  for  that  day,  and  told  them  to  come  again  on 
a  day  he  mentioned,  saying  that  by  that  time  he 
would  know  just  what  to  do — for  help  them  he 
would.  The  bees  were  so  delighted  with  this  news 
that  they  could  not  keep  it  to  themselves  but  must 
go  and  tell  their  cousins,  the  wasps  and  hornets,  and 
even  bumblebees. 

"When  the  appointed  time  arrived  the  bees  were 
on  hand — and  so  were  the  wasps,  hornets,  and 
bumblebees.  Wakonda  welcomed  the  bees  most 
kindly,  but  was  a  little  suspicious  about  their  visitors, 
and  he  asked  some  sharp  questions.  But  the  bees 
were  in  such  good  humor  about  the  help  that  was 
coming  that  they  did  not  refer  to  the  bad  habits  of 
their  cousins  at  all.  Then  Wakonda  made  a  speech 
to  the  bees,  and  told  them  how  much  he  loved  them 
for  their  industrious  habits,  which  he  wished  all 
creatures  had.  He  praised  them  for  the  fact  that, 
instead  of  idly  wasting  the  summer  days,  they  used 
them  in  gathering  up  food  for  the  long,  cold  winter. 

"Then  he  proceeded  to  give  them  the  terrible 
stings  which  they  have  had  ever  since,  and  as  the 
wasps  and  hornets  claimed  to  be  their  cousins  Wa 
konda  was  good-natured  enough  to  give  them  the 

47 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

same  sort  of  weapons.  Some  people,  especially 
boys,  think  this  was  a  great  mistake,  and  would  be 
very  glad  if  Wakonda  had  refused  to  give  stings  to 
the  yellow  wasp  and  the  black  hornet." 

"Well,  what  happened  after  the  bees  got  their 
stings?"  said  Sagastao. 

"A  good  deal  happened,"  said  Mary,  "and  that 
very  soon.  A  lot  of  them,  without  as  much  effort 
to  conceal  their  nest  as  formerly,  selected  a  tall,  hol 
low  tree,  and  using  a  big  knot  hole  as  the  door  began 
secreting  their  honey  in  it.  They  had  made  the 
combs,  and  were  now  filling  them,  when  along  came 
a  couple  of  bears.  These  animals,  as  you  have  been 
told,  are  great  honey  thieves,  but  they  always  had 
hard  work  to  find  where  the  timid  bees  had  cun 
ningly  hid  it  away,  and  now  they  could  hardly  be 
lieve  that  right  here  before  them  was  a  great  swarm 
of  bees  filling  the  air  with  their  buzzing  as  they  flew 
in  and  out  of  the  knot  hole. 

"With  saucy  assurance  they  at  once  began  climb 
ing  the  tree,  expecting  to  be  able  to  put  their  long 
paws  into  that  big  hole  and  draw  out  the  combs. 
But  they  never  reached  that  knot  hole.  The  noise 
they  made  in  their  climbing  alarmed  the  bees.  Out 
they  came  in  great  numbers,  and  now,  instead  of 
flying  around  in  a  panic,  like  so  many  house  flies, 
and  seeing  their  honey  devoured,  they  at  once  flew 
at  their  enemies,  the  bears.  They  stung  them  on 
their  noses  and  about  their  eyes  and  lips,  and  indeed 
in  every  spot  where  they  could  possibly  reach  them 
with  their  terrible  new  weapons. 

48 


"They  howled  with  rage  and  terror. 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

"The  bears  could  not  make  out  what  the  trouble 
was.  They  howled  with  rage  and  terror,  yet  they 
were  resolved  to  get  that  honey,  and  still  tried  to 
crawl  up  higher  on  the  tree.  But  at  length  the  bees 
mustered  in  such  vast  numbers — for  those  away 
gathering  honey,  as  they  returned,  joined  in  the  at 
tack — that  the  bears  became  wild  with  pain  and 
fear,  and  had  to  give  up  their  effort  and  drop  to  the 
ground.  Even  then  the  bees  gave  them  no  peace,  and 
continued  to  sting  them  until  they  were  obliged  to 
run  into  the  dark  forest  for  relief. 

"Thus  it  happens  now  that  almost  all  creatures 
that  bother  the  bees  are  similarly  treated." 

"Well,"  said  Minnehaha,  "they  need  not  have 
stung  me  because  I  was  picking  a  few  flowers ;  but, 
after  all,  I  am  glad  they  have  their  stings  or  I 
suppose  we  should  never  have  any  honey." 

"They  are  not  big  enough  to  have  much  sense," 
replied  Sagastao,  "and  so  they  go  for  everyone  that 
gets  in  their  way." 

Mary  now  carefully  removed  the  clay  poultices, 
which  had  effectually  done  their  work.  A  wash 
followed,  in  the  waters  of  the  lake  which  rippled  at 
their  feet,  and  soon  not  the  slightest  trace  of  the 
sting  remained.  By  the  time  they  reached  home 
both  pain  and  tears  were  well-nigh  forgotten. 

That  evening  before  the  children  were  sent  to  bed 
they  overheard  Jakoos,  who  had  come  to  the  house 
with  venison  to  sell,  telling  in  the  kitchen  a  story 
that  he  had  heard  from  Souwanas  about  a  naughty 
fellow,  called  Maheigan,  who  tried  to  capture  a 

49 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

beautiful  kind-hearted  maiden,  Waubenoo,  and  of 
how  Nanahboozhoo  thrashed  him,  and  then  after 
ward,  because  of  some  naughty  children  not  holding 
their  tongues,  Waubenoo  was  turned  into  the 
Whisky  Jack. 

What  the  little  children  overheard  had  very  much 
excited  their  curiosity,  and  so  when  Mary  was  put 
ting  them  to  bed  they  demanded  from  her  the  full 
story. 

As  this  was  one  of  the  Saulteaux  Indian  legends, 
while  Mary  was  a  Cree,  she  was  not  familiar  with  it. 
She  told  the  children  that  she  knew  nothing  about 
it,  but  this  by  no  means  set  their  curiosity  at  rest. 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 


CHAPTER    IV. 

The    Love    Story    of    Wakontas— His    Test    of    the    Two 
Maidens— His    Choice— The   Transformation    of    Misticoosis. 

FEW  days  later  Mary  was  annoyed 
by    having    the   children    tell    her 
frankly  that  they  did  not  think  she 
was  a  first-class  story-teller.     For 
if  she  had  been  she  ought  to  have 
been  able  to  answer  Minnehaha's 
question  about  what  Nanahbooz- 
hoo   did   to   Maheigan   when   he 
tried  to  catch  Waubenoo. 

Mary  was  vexed  at  herself  that 
she  was  unable  to  answer  the  ques 
tion,  for  she  well  knew  that  the 
children  would  not  rest  satisfied  until  they  had  the 
story  told  them  by  some  one,  possibly  Souwanas 
himself.  Indeed,  knowing  them  so  well,  she  had  fully 
resolved  to  post  herself  from  one  of  the  noted  story 
tellers  who  have  all  the  Indian  legends  at  their 
tongue  tips.  But  as  yet  she  was  ignorant  in  this 
matter,  and  therefore  fell  considerably  in  the  chil 
dren's  estimation.  Mary  was  somewhat  hurt  by  no 
ticing,  perhaps  for  the  first  time,  Sagastao  and  Min- 
nehaha  whispering  confidentially  to  each  other.  The 
children  conversed  with  Mary  only  in  her  own  lan- 

5i 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

guage,  which  at  that  time  they  perhaps  understood 
better  than  they  did  English.  Now,  much  to  Mary's 
annoyance,  their  confidential  whisperings  were  car 
ried  on  in  English.  Being  sensitive  and  quick 
tempered,  when  she  saw  this  sudden  break  in  their 
affections  toward  her  she  was  inclined  to  resent  it, 
and  asked  the  reason  why  she  was  not  allowed  to 
know  what  they  were  talking  about. 

Blunt  little  Sagastao  spoke  up  at  once: 

"Minnehaha  and  I  have  talked  it  over,  and  have 
decided  that  unless  you  tell  us  better  stories,  and 
ones  which  you  know  all  about,  we're  going  to  run 
away  to  the  wigwam  of  Souwanas." 

This  was  humiliating  and  distressing  news.  Mary 
fancied  she  had  told  them  a  good  story,  and  that 
with  a  few  others  like  it  she  could  satisfy  their  curi 
osity  and  keep  them  at  home  until  the  brief  summer 
would  have  passed.  Not  so,  however,  thought  the 
children.  They  saw  their  advantage  and  were  re 
solved  to  keep  it,  and  when  their  lessons  were  over 
and  they  were  left  entirely  in  the  charge  of  Mary 
they  taxed  the  little  woman  in  a  way  that  obliged 
her  to  exercise  all  her  gifts  as  a  story-teller,  and  she 
was  far  from  being  a  poor  one. 

One  day  she  took  them  out  in  a  graceful  birch 
canoe  among  the  picturesque  islands.  They  landed 
on  one  of  these  islands,  and  spent  some  time  in  ex 
ploring  its  beauties  and  resting  where  grew  a  pro 
fusion  of  the  fragrant  Indian  grass.  They  were 
for  a  time  much  interested  in  the  various  wild  birds 
that  then  were  so  numerous  and  fearless.  Beautiful 

52 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

gulls  of  different  varieties  were  there  nesting,  and 
by  following  Mary's  directions  the  children  were 
delighted  to  find  that  they  could  approach  very  near 
to  the  nests  of  some  of  them  without  disturbing  the 
mother  bird  while  her  mate,  in  fearless  confidence, 
stood  on  guard  beside  her. 

"Now,  Mary,  hurrah  for  a  story !"  cried  the  chil 
dren,  as  they  sat  at  lunch. 

While  Mary  was  wondering  what  she  would  tell 
them,  Minnehaha,  with  all  the  restless,  inquisitive 
spirit  of  childhood,  noticing  the  ceaseless  rustling 
movements  of  the  leaves  in  the  stately  northern  pop 
lar  while  the  leaves  of  all  the  other  trees  were  so 
still,  said: 

"Why  is  it,  Mary,  that  even  while  the  leaves  on 
the  other  trees  are  so  quiet  those  almost  round  ones 
are  ever  stirring?'' 

Mary  knew  the  Indian  legend,  and  at  once  pro 
ceeded  to  narrate  it. 

"It  is  believed  by  our  people,"  said  Mary,  "that 
there  are  other  persons  just  as  clever  as  Nanah- 
boozhoo,  and  as  able  to  do  wonderful  things,  but 
they  are  very  seldom  heard  of.  Some  of  them  were 
the  children  of  Wakonda,  the  powerful  spirit  who 
dwelt  in  the  region  of  Spirit  Lake,  where  they  say 
it  is  always  sunshine.  Many  strange  things  have 
been  told  about  them,  but  everybody  says  they  are 
kind-hearted,  and  never  did  anything  to  injure  any 
of  our  people  unless  it  was  well  deserved.  The  story 
is  that  long  ago  one  of  these  sons  of  Wakonda, 
whose  name  was  Wakontas,  could  not  find  a  wife 

53 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

to  suit  him  in  his  own  beautiful  country,  and  so  he 
came  to  the  regions  where  the  Indians  dwelt. 

"For  a  long  time  he  wandered  throughout  great 
regions  of  country  before  he  found  anyone  who  in 
terested  him.  However,  in  his  journey  ings  Wakon- 
tas  went  into  the  wigwam  of  some  Indians  where 
there  were  two  lovely  maidens,  so  very  beautiful 
that  he  fell  in  love  with  both  of  them.  He  was  in 
the  disguise  of  a  very  fine-looking  young  hunter.  So 
clever  was  he  in  the  use  of  his  bow  and  arrow  that 
at  the  end  of  every  hunting  excursion  he  returned 
laden  with  the  richest  spoils  of  the  chase.  He  fell 
more  and  more  in  love  with  the  two  girls,  and  know 
ing,  of  course,  that  he  could  only  get  one  of  them 
he  found  a  great  difficulty  in  making  his  choice.  He 
had  already  gone  to  the  girl's  father,  and  after  find 
ing  out  from  him  the  price  demanded  for  his  daugh 
ter,  without  mentioning  which  one,  very  quickly 
by  his  magic  powers  he  obtained  the  heavy  price 
and  laid  it  at  the  father's  feet.  Both  of  the  girls 
seemed  equally  pleased  with  him,  and  each  one  se 
cretly  hoped  that  she  might  be  the  object  of  his 
choice.  Still  he  hesitated,  and  although  he  tried 
many  experiments  yet  they  so  nearly  equaled  each 
other  in  cleverness  and  beauty  that  he  was  still  un 
decided.  However,  there  was  a  great  difference  in 
their  dispositions.  While  one  was  proud  and  jeal 
ous,  and  had  a  very  bitter  tongue,  the  other  was 
just  the  opposite;  while  one  was  very  selfish,  the 
other  was  generous  and  kindhearted.  But  Wakon- 
tas  was  not  able  to  find  this  out  at  first,  and  after  he 

54 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

had  considered  various  plans  he  decided  that  he 
would  put  on  one  of  his  many  disguises  and  thus 
try  them. 

"So  he  started  off  as  though  going  on  a  hunting 
expedition,  but  soon  after  he  was  out  of  sight  he 
quickly  assumed  the  form  of  a  poor  and  aged  In 
dian,  and  came  to  the  home  of  these  two  beautiful 
sisters,  and  asked  for  assistance.  Wakontas  chose 
a  time  when  he  knew  the  rest  of  the  family  were 
away  from  the  wigwam,  in  order  that  he  might  see 
how  the  two  sisters  would  act  toward  him. 

"When  he  walked  into  the  wigwam,  for  nobody 
ever  knocks  at  an  Indian  tent,  the  maidens  were  a 
little  startled  at  thus  suddenly  seeing  this  rough- 
looking  old  beggar-man  in  their  midst.  The  selfish, 
proud  girl,  whose  name  was  Misticoosis,  at  once  be 
gan  assailing  him,  and  cried,  'Auwasta  kena!'  (Get 
out ;  go  away,  you ! ) 

"In  vain  he  pleaded  that  he  was  aged  and  hungry. 
She  would  not  listen  to  him. 

"Omemee,  the  other  young  Indian  maiden,  who 
had  not  said  a  word,  but  had  been  pitying  him  from 
the  first  moment  she  saw  how  feeble  and  sad  he 
looked,  now  interfered,  and  remonstrated  with  her 
sister,  whose  tongue  kept  up  a  constant  stream  of 
abuse.  Taking  the  old  man  to  her  side  of  the  wig 
wam  she  seated  him  on  a  rug  of  deerskins  and 
then  built  up  before  him  a  bright  fire.  Then  she 
quickly  brought  in  venison,  cooked  it  nicely,  and 
gave  him  the  broth  for  drink  and  the  meat  for  food. 
He  thanked  her  gratefully,  but  she  checked  his 

55 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

words  and  said  that  her  greatest  joy  was  in  making 
others  happy.  Not  satisfied  with  what  she  had  done, 
and  noticing  that  his  shoes  were  old  and  worn,  she 
took  out  of  her  beaded  workbag  a  pair  of  splendidly 
worked  moccasins,  and  put  them  on  his  feet. 

"All  this  time,  while  this  good-hearted,  generous 
Omemee  was  treating  the  poor  old  man  so  kindly, 
the  proud,  selfish  Misticoosis  was  talking  as  hard 
and  as  fast  as  she  could  against  such  deeds  of  kind 
ness  to  all  old  people.  In  her  opinion,  when  they 
had  got  so  old  and  helpless  as  that  old  fellow  was, 
they  ought  to  be  killed  by  their  relatives. 

"The  old  man  again  expressed  his  thanks  to  the 
kind  sister,  and  then  went  his  way. 

"Soon  the  girls  began  to  think  of  arraying  them 
selves  for  the  return  of  their  friend  and  lover.  The 
proud,  selfish  Misticoosis  spent  all  the  time  in  fixing 
herself  up  in  the  most  elaborate  manner.  She  had 
lately  become  quite  jealous  of  her  sister,  and  she  was 
resolved  to  so  outshine  her  in  appearance  that  the 
handsome  young  hunter  would  surely  prefer  her. 
But  Omemee  (a  name  which  means  a  dove)  thought 
to  herself : 

"  'My  father  and  mother  and  the  rest  of  the  fam 
ily  will  soon  be  returning  to  the  wigwam,  tired  and 
hungry,  and  the  best  thing  I  can  do  will  be  to  have 
a  good  dinner  ready  for  them  all.'  So,  only  taking 
time  to  comb  and  brush  her  luxuriant  hair  and  make 
herself  neat  and  tidy  for  her  work,  she  set  about 
cooking  the  meal.  She  skillfully  prepared  venison 
and  bear's  meat,  and  the  finest  of  fish. 

56 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

' 'Hardly  had  she  finished  her  work  and  seen 
everything  nicely  cooked  before  she  heard  the  happy 
shoutings  of  her  younger  brothers,  and  the  sweet 
birdcalls  of  her  little  sisters. 

"As  Omemee  and  her  sister  Misticoosis  hurried 
out  to  greet  them  they  were  surprised  to  see  the 
handsome  stranger  gliding  along  in  his  beautiful 
canoe  alongside  of  the  larger  one  of  the  family.  Of 
course,  the  sight  of  their  lover  excited  the  two  girls. 
Misticoosis,  who  had  spent  all  the  hours  in  arraying 
herself  in  her  finery  and  adornment,  boldly  thrust 
herself  to  the  front,  and  crowded  out  the  modest 
Omemee,  who  was  flushed  by  the  busy  work  of  cook 
ing  the  dinner,  and  was  wisely  dressed  in  a  costume 
which  harmonized  with  her  face  and  with  the  work 
in  which  she  had  been  engaged  so  industriously. 

"The  instant  the  handsome  young  Indian  landed 
— fancy  the  amazement  of  the  two  girls  to  notice 
that  he  had  on  his  feet  the  same  beautiful  moccasins 
that,  not  many  hours  before,  Omemee  had  given  to 
the  aged  feeble  man !  Before  anyone  could  utter  a 
word  he  came  striding  up  to  the  girls,  and  said : 

"  'As  an  old,  weary  man,  I  came  to  your  wigwam 
a  few  hours  ago.  Misticoosis  gave  me  nothing  but 
abuse,  yet  my  only  crime  was  that  I  was  old.  Her 
tongue  went  on  and  on  without  stopping,  and  all  of 
her  words  were  words  of  abuse  for  the  old  man  and 
anger  that  he  should  have  been  left  to  live  so  long. 
But  Omemee,  kind-hearted  Omemee,  pitied  the  poor 
old  man.  She  made  him  sit  down  on  a  couch  of 
deerskins,  that  he  might  rest  his  tired  limbs.  She 

57 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

built  a  fire  and  warmed  him.  She  took  of  the  best 
of  the  venison,  and  made  him  food  and  drink,  and 
then  ere  he  left  she  put  on  his  feet  the  most  beautiful 
of  her  moccasins.  All  her  gifts  to  the  unknown  old 
man  were  the  best  she  had. 

"  'See  the  beautiful  moccasins,  the  gift  of 
Omemee ! 

"  'I  was  that  old  man — I  am  now  the  lover  long 
seeking  a  bride.  I  have  made  my  choice.  Two 
beautiful  maidens  for  a  time  divided  my  heart. 
There  is  no  division  now.  By  testing  them  I  have 
found  out  that  only  one  is  lovely  within. 

"  That  no  man  may  have  to  put  up  through  life 
with  the  unceasing  clatter  of  the  tongue  of  Misti- 
coosis,  she  will  be  from  this  time  the  unbeautiful 
aspen  tree,  while  her  tongue  shall  be  the  leaves  that 
will  never  again  be  still  even  in  the  gentlest  breeze. 
The  leaves  of  other  trees  shall  rest  at  times,  but  the 
aspen  leaves,  now  the  tongue  of  Misticoosis,  shall 
ever  be  restless  and  unquiet.' 

"And  even  while  he  was  speaking,  Misticoosis, 
who  was  amazed  and  ashamed  at  the  words  he 
spoke,  became  rooted  to  the  ground,  and  gradually 
turned  into  an  aspen  tree. 

"Then,  turning  from  her  to  the  maiden  of  his 
choice,  he  exclaimed : 

"  'But  Omemee,  the  loving,  the  tender,  the  kind- 
hearted,  thou  art  my  heart's  choice!' 

"Saying  this,  the  handsome  hunter  opened  his 
arms,  and  Omemee  sprang  toward  him.  For  a  mo 
ment  he  held  her  in  his  arms ;  then  he  said : 

58 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

"  'I  am  Wakontas,  and  to  the  beautiful  home  of 
Wakontas  thou  shalt  be  taken.' 

"Then  there  was  a  wonderful  transformation;  as 
quickly  as  a  butterfly  bursts  from  its  chrysalis,  so 
suddenly  was  Omemee  transformed  into  a  beautiful 
dove  and  the  hunter  as  quickly  assumed  the  same 
lovely  form.  Together  they  arose  into  the  air,  and 
flew  away  to  the  unknown  but  beautiful  home  of 
Wakontas,  in  the  land  of  perpetual  sunshine." 


59 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 


CHAPTER   V. 

The  Startling  Placard— What  Happened  to  the  Little  Run 
aways — The   Rescue — Mary  Tells   Them  the   Legend  of  the 
Swallows — How   Some   Cruel   Men   were   Punished 
who  Teased  an  Orphan  Boy. 

HEN  Mary  entered  the  children's 
bedroom  one  bright,  pleasant 
morning  she  was  amazed  at  find 
ing  both  of  the  beds  empty  and 
a  piece  of  foolscap  paper  pinned 
to  the  dressing  table.  The  writ 
ing  on  it  was  beyond  her  power 
to  read.  She  remembered  now 
that  the  children  had  begged  her 
not  to  come  very  early  in  the 
morning  to  wake  them  up,  and 
as  their  requests  were  as  a  law 
she  had  lingered  as  long  as  she  dared,  and  indeed 
had  only  gone  to  call  them  when  her  mistress 
had  asked  the  reason  for  their  nonappearance. 
Not  until  she  had  shown  the  paper,  with  its 
inscription,  to  the  kitchen  maid,  who  could  read 
English,  did  its  full  meaning  burst  upon  her.  Of 
course,  she  was  very  much  troubled,  and  yet  such 
was  her  loyalty  to  the  children  that  she  hesitated 
about  letting  the  parents  know  what  had  occurred. 
She  was  fully  aware  that  she  could  not  long  keep 

60 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

the  startling  news  from  them,  and  yet  she  was  still 
resolved  that  never  should  any  information  be  im 
parted  by  her  that  might  bring  down  upon  them  any 
punishment,  no  matter  how  much  deserved. 

It  was  a  long,  rough  trail  through  the  primitive 
forest  to  the  wigwam  of  Souwanas.  How  long  the 
children  had  been  away  she  could  not  tell.  Mary, 
with  Indian  shrewdness,  had  felt  their  beds,  and 
had  found  them  both  quite  cold,  so  she  knew  the 
little  mischiefs  had  been  off  at  least  an  hour.  She 
interrogated  not  only  the  maid  in  the  kitchen  but 
also  Kennedy,  the  man  of  all  work,  outside.  Neither 
of  them  had  seen  or  heard  anything  of  the  children, 
and  as  they  did  not  share  Mary's  ideas  the  escapade 
of  the  children  was  soon  known. 

The  parents  were  naturally  alarmed  when  they 
heard  the  news.  At  once  the  father,  accompanied 
by  Kennedy  and  the  dogs,  Jack  and  Cuffy,  started 
off  on  the  trail  of  the  runaways.  The  intelligent 
dogs,  having  been  shown  a  couple  of  garments  re 
cently  worn  by  the  missing  boy  and  girl  and  being 
told  to  find  them,  at  once  took  up  the  trail  in  the 
direction  of  the  wigwam  of  Souwanas,  running  with 
such  rapidity  that  if  they  had  not  been  restrained  by 
the  voice  of  their  master  they  would  very  quickly 
have  left  him  and  his  Indian  attendant  far  behind. 

At  length,  with  a  sudden  start,  both  dogs,  growl 
ing  ominously,  dashed  off  ahead,  utterly  regardless 
of  all  efforts  made  by  their  master  to  restrain  them. 
This  suspicious  conduct  on  the  part  of  the  dogs  of 
course  alarmed  the  father  and  his  Indian  companion, 

61 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

and  as  rapidly  as  the  rough  trail  would  allow  they 
hurried  on  in  the  direction  taken  by  the  dogs.  Soon 
their  ears  were  greeted  by  a  chorus  of  loud  and 
angry  yelping.  Fear  gave  speed  to  both  the  men, 
and  soon  they  dashed  out  from  the  forest  into  the 
opening  of  an  Indian's  clearing.  Here  was  a  sight 
that  filled  them  with  alarm,  and  almost  terror. 
Standing  on  a  pile  of  logs  were  little  Sagastao  and 
Minnehaha.  Sagastao  erect  and  fearless,  with  a 
club  about  as  large  as  an  ordinary  cane, 
while  behind  him,  leaning  against  a  high  fallen 
log,  was  Minnehaha.  Surrounding  them  were  sev 
eral  fierce,  wolfish  Indian  dogs,  among  whom  Jack 
and  Cuffy,  wild  and  furious,  were  now  making  dire 
havoc.  One  after  another,  wounded  and  limping, 
the  curs  skulked  away  as  the  two  men  rushed  up 
to  the  children. 

"Ha!  ha!  hurrah  for  our  Jack  and  Cuffy;  aren't 
they  the  boss  dogs !"  shouted  the  fearless  little  run 
aways,  and  now  that  the  victory  was  won  they 
nimbly  sprang  down  from  their  high  retreat  and, 
apparently  without  the  slightest  fear,  congratulated 
both  their  father  and  the  Indian  on  the  superiority 
of  their  own  dogs. 

Trembling  with  anxiety,  the  anxious  father, 
thankful  at  the  narrow  escape  of  his  children,  as  he 
clasped  them  in  his  arms  could  not  but  be  amazed 
at  the  indifference  of  the  little  ones  to  the  great 
danger  from  which  they  had  just  escaped.  After 
petting  Jack  and  Cuffy  for  their  great  bravery  and 
courage  the  return  journey  was  begun,  much  to  the 

62 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

regret  of  the  children,  who  pleaded  hard  to  be  al-' 
lowed  to  resume  their  trip  to  the  wigwam  of  Sou- 
wanas  to  hear  the  stories  of  Nanahboozhoo. 

The  father  was  perfectly  amazed  at  this  request, 
and  of  course  it  was  sternly  refused.  He  had  started 
off  in  pursuit  of  the  runaways  with  a  resolve  to 
punish  them  for  this  serious  breach  of  home  disci 
pline,  but  his  alarm  at  their  danger  and  his  thankful 
ness  for  their  escape  had  so  stirred  him  that  he  could 
not  punish  them  nor  even  chide  them  at  the  time. 
All  he  could  do  was  to  bring  them  safely  home  again 
and,  as  usual  in  such  emergencies,  turn  them  over 
to  the  tender  mercies  of  their  mother. 

Sturdily  the  children  marched  on  ahead  for  a 
while,  then  Kennedy,  the  Indian,  took  Minnehaha 
in  his  arms.  He  had  not  carried  her  many  hundred 
yards  before  the  weary  little  one  fell  fast  asleep, 
softly  muttering  as  she  slipped  off  into  the  land  of 
dreams,  "Wanted  to  hear  about  Nanahboozhoo." 

Great  was  the  excitement  at  home  when  the  party 
returned.  Sagastao  rushed  into  the  arms  of  his 
mother,  and  without  the  slightest  idea  of  having  clone 
anything  wrong  began  most  dramatically  to  describe 
how  "our  Jack  and  Cuffy  thrashed  those  naughty 
Eskimo  dogs"  that  chased  Minnehaha  and  him  upon 
that  great  pile  of  logs.  Mary  in  the  meantime  had 
taken  from  Kennedy's  arms  the  still  sleeping  Minne 
haha,  and  almost  smothered  her  with  kisses  as  she 
bore  her  away  to  bed. 

There  was  great  perplexity  on  the  part  of  the 
parents  to  know  just  what  to  do  to  impress  upon 

63 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

the  little  ones  that  they  had  been  very  naughty  in 
thus  running  away,  for  it  was  very  evident  from  the 
utterances  of  both  that  they  had  not  considered  the 
matter  in  that  light.  Now,  in  view  of  the  weariness 
of  Minnehaha,  it  was  decided  to  leave  the  matter  of 
discipline  in  abeyance  until  a  little  of  the  excitement 
had  passed  away. 

In  the  meantime  Sagastao  was  ready  to  talk  with 
everybody  about  the  whole  affair.  It  seems  that  he 
and  Minnehaha  had  decided  that  Mary  was  "no 
good"  in  telling  stories.  He  said  her  stories  neither, 
frightened  them  nor  made  them  cry,  but  Souwanas 
was  the  boss  man  to  tell  Nanahboozhoo  stories.  He 
said  they  got  up  before  anybody  was  stirring,  that 
morning,  and  dressed  themselves  so  quietly  that  no 
body  heard  them.  They  remembered  the  trail  along 
which  Souwanas  and  Jakoos  had  carried  them. 
After  they  had  walked  for  some  time  they  came  to 
where  there  was  a  larger  trail,  and  they  turned  into 
it,  and  came  upon  a  lot  of  dogs  that  had  been  chasing 
some  rabbits.  Soon  the  rabbits  got  away  from  the 
dogs,  when  they  reached  those  trees  that  had  been 
chopped  down.  Minnehaha  was  the  first  to  notice 
that  the  dogs  had  turned  back,  and  were  coming 
after  them,  and  she  shouted : 

"  'O,  look !  those  dogs  think  we  are  rabbits,  and 
they  are  coming  for  us !' r 

"When  I  saw  they  really  were  coming,"  said 
Sagastao,  "Minnehaha  and  I  jumped  up  on  the  logs, 
and  we  climbed  up  as  high  as  we  could,  and  I  took 
up  a  stick,  and  then  I  stood  up  with  Minnehaha  be- 

64 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

hind  me,  and  I  shook  the  stick  at  them,  and — and  I 
shouted : 

"  'A  wus,  atimuk!' '      (Get  away,  you  dogs!) 

"They  came  so  near  on  the  logs  that  I  hit  one  or 
two  of  them,  while  all  of  the  others  on  the  ground 
kept  barking  at  us.  But  I  kept  shouting  back  at 
them,  'A  wus,  atimuk!'  My!  it  was  great  fun. 
Then  all  at  once  we  heard  Jack  and  Cuffy,  and,  I 
tell  you !  soon  there  was  more  fun,  when  our  big  dogs 
sprang  at  them.  Every  time  an  Eskimo  was  tackled 
by  Jack  or  Cuffy  he  went  down,  and  was  soon  howl 
ing  from  the  way  in  which  he  was  shaken.  And 
they  had  nearly  thrashed  the  whole  of  them  when 
papa  and  Kennedy  came  rushing  up.  I  wished  they 
had  been  there  sooner,  to  have  seen  all  the  fun." 

Thus  the  lad's  tongue  rattled  on,  while  it  was  evi 
dent  he  was  utterly  unconscious  of  the  danger  they 
had  been  in. 

After  some  deliberation  it  was  decided  that,  in 
view  of  this  runaway  being  the  first  offense  of  the 
kind,  the  punishment  should  be  confinement  to  their 
own  room  the  next  day,  until  six  o'clock  in  the  even 
ing,  on  a  diet  of  bread  and  water.  At  this  Mary 
was  simply  furious.  She  well  knew,  however,  that 
it  was  necessary  for  her  to  control  herself  in  her 
master's  and  mistress's  presence.  She  managed  to 
hold  her  tongue,  but  her  flashing  eyes  and  an  occa 
sional  mutter,  which  would  come  out  as  she  went 
about  her  usual  duties,  showed  the  smoldering  fire 
that  was  burning  inside.  The  children  had  been 
duly  lectured  for  their  breach  of  discipline  and  then, 

65 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

that  evening,  consigned  to  their  room  for  their  im 
prisonment  which  was  to  last  until  the  next  even 
ing.  That  night  Mary  took  up  her  mattress  and 
blankets  and  went  and  slept  on  the  floor  between 
the  two  beds  of  the  children,  and  in  spite  of  orders, 
so  the  maid  said,  she  secretly  carried  up  a  goodly 
sized  bundle  from  the  kitchen. 

The  day  was  one  of  unusual  quietness,  as  the 
lively  pair,  who  generally  kept  the  house  full  of 
music,  were  now  supposed  to  be  away  in  humiliation 
and  disgrace.  All  regretted  that  the  punishment 
had  to  be  inflicted  and  the  children  made  to  realize 
their  naughtiness  in  thus  running  away,  and  all 
were  looking  forward  to  the  hour  of  six  o'clock 
with  pleasant  anticipation.  When  it  arrived  word 
was  sent  to  the  children  that  their  hours  of  imprison 
ment  were  over,  and  that  they  were  to  present  them 
selves  in  the  library.  Quick  and  prompt  was  the 
response,  and  noisily  and  hurriedly  the  two  darlings 
came  rushing  down  the  stairs,  followed  by  Mary. 
They  were  arrayed  in  their  most  beautiful  apparel, 
and  were  evidently  prepared  by  their  nurse  to  go 
with  her  for  a  walk. 

The  father,  feeling  that  it  was  necessary,  began 
to  make  a  few  remarks  expressive  of  regret  that  he 
had  thus  been  obliged  to  punish  them,  when  he  was 
interrupted  by  little  Sagastao  with  the  honest  and 
candid  remark,  spoken  in  a  way  which,  while  per 
fectly  fearless,  was  yet  devoid  of  all  rudeness  or 
impertinence : 

"O,  father  dear,  you  needn't  feel  badly  about  us 
66 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

at  all,  as  Mary  has  been  with  us  all  day  and  has  told 
us  lovely  stories." 

"And  Mary  brought  us  taffy  candy,"  broke  in 
darling  Minnehaha,  with  equal  candor;  "and  some 
currant  cakes  and  other  nice  things,  so  we  got  on 
very  well  after  all." 

These  candid  utterances  on  the  part  of  the  two 
children  not  only  amazed  but  amused  the  parents, 
and  were  another  revelation  of  Mary's  wonderful 
love  for  the  children  and  her  defiance  of  disciplinary 
measures  which  she  thought  might  cause  the  slight 
est  pain  or  sorrow.  And  here  she  stood  in  the  open 
door,  and  as  soon  as  their  father's  words  and  their 
own  rather  startling  "confessions"  were  ended  she 
called  them  to  her  and  away  they  went  for  a  long 
walk  along  the  beautiful  shore  of  the  lake,  leaving 
their  parents  to  conjecture  whether  the  punishment 
that  had  been  inflicted  would  produce  any  very 
salutary  results. 

When  the  children  were  gathered  that  evening  in 
the  study  with  their  parents  little  Sagastao  said : 

"Papa,  Minnehaha  and  I  have  been  talking  it  all 
over  with  Mary  and  she  has  shown  us  that  it  was 
naughty  on  our  parts  to  run  away  as  we  did;  and 
we  are  sorry  that  we  did  anything  that  caused  you 
and  mamma  sorrow  and  anxiety  about  us,  and  so, 
.  .  .  Well,  we  know  you  will  forgive  us."  And  as 
the  four  little  arms  went  twining  around  the  parents' 
necks  there  was  joy  and  gladness  all  round,  and  it 
was  evident  that  there  was  no  danger  of  the 
escapade  being  repeated. 

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ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

The  following  are  a  couple  of  the  legends  that 
Mary  told  them  while  they  were  prisoners  in  their 
own  room  that  day. 

THE  LEGEND  OF  THE  SWALLOWS. 

"Long  ago/'  said  Mary,  "there  were  some  Indian 
families  who  lived  on  the  top  of  a  very  high  hill,  like 
a  mountain.  They  had  quite  a  number  of  small 
children,  and  I  am  sorry  to  say  they  were  very 
naughty  and  would  often  disobey  their  parents.  One 
of  their  bad  deeds  was  to  run  away,  and  thus  make 
the  father  and  mother  very  unhappy  until  they  re 
turned.  Their  parents  were  very  much  afraid  that 
some  of  the  Windegoos  or  wild  animals  would  catch 
them  when  they  thus  ran  away  by  themselves,  with 
no  strong  man  to  guard  them. 

"So  the  parents  tried  to  make  their  homes  as  nice 
as  possible  for  them.  They  made  all  sorts  of  toys 
for  them  and  gave  them  nice  little  bows  and  arrows, 
and  other  things,  that  ought  to  have  amused  them 
and  kept  them  happy  at  home.  All  the  efforts  of 
their  parents,  however,  were  of  no  use.  They  soon 
were  tired  of  their  home  amusements,  and  when 
their  parents'  backs  were  turned  they  would  run 
away. 

"At  length  their  conduct  became  so  bad,  and  the 
parents  found  themselves  so  powerless  to  prevent  it, 
that  they  decided  to  appeal  to  the  Indian  Council  for 
assistance.  For  a  time  the  stern  commands  of  the 
Chief  were  listened  to  and  obeyed.  Then  they 
neglected  his  words,  and  about  as  frequently  as  ever 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

they  were  found  playing  truant  from  their  homes 
and  parents. 

"At  length,  on  one  occasion  when  they  had  all 
run  away  and  had  been  off  for  several  days  and 
could  not  be  found,  their  fathers  and  mothers  called 
upon  Wakonda  to  look  for  them  and  to  send  them 
home.  Wakonda  was  very  angry  when  he  heard 
about  these  naughty  children  running  away  so  much, 
and  so  he  set  off  in  a  hurry  to  find  them.  After  a 
long  search  he  discovered  them  on  the  bank  of  a 
muddy  river  making  mud  huts  and  mud  animals. 
He  was  so  angry  at  them  that  he  at  once  turned 
them  into  swallows,  and  said,  'From  this  time  for 
ward  you  will  ever  be  wanderers  and  your  homes 
will  always  be  made  of  mud/  and  so  it  has  been." 

"I  say,  Mary,  did  you  remember  that  yarn  be 
cause  Minnehaha  and  I  ran  away?"  said  Sagastao. 

"Well,  we  were  not  making  mud  huts,"  said 
Minnehaha. 

Mary  was  not  to  be  caught,  however,  even  if  she 
did  love  them  so  much,  and  she  did  not  answer  Sa- 
gastao's  question,  although  in  her  heart  she  was  not 
sorry  if  he  saw  something  in  the  legend  that  would 
deter  him  from  again  running  away. 

HOW     SOME     CRUEL     MEN     WERE     PUNISHED     WHO 
TEASED  AN  ORPHAN  BOY. 

"There  was  once  an  old  grandmother  who  was 
left  alone  with  only  an  orphan  grandson.  All  of  her 
other  relatives  were  dead.  This  boy  was  a  very  in 
dustrious  little  fellow,  and  did  all  that  he  could  to 

69 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

help  his  grandmother.  They  both  had  to  work  very 
hard  to  have  sufficient  to  keep  them  from  starving. 
Together  they  would  go  out  in  their  canoe  and  catch 
fish.  They  also  set  many  snares  in  the  forest  to 
catch  rabbits,  partridges,  and  other  small  game. 

"Because  they  were  so  poor  the  clothing  of  this 
orphan  boy  was  made  partly  of  rabbitskins  and 
partly  of  the  skins  of  birds.  When  he  was  not  busy 
helping  his  grandmother  he,  like  other  little  boys, 
was  pleased  to  go  out  and  play  with  the  other  chil 
dren  of  the  village.  Some  of  the  men  of  the  village 
were  very  fond  of  teasing  him,  and  some  were  even 
cruel  to  him,  because  of  the  poor  clothing  he  had  to 
wear.  Often  the  poor  boy  would  return  to  the  wig 
wam  of  his  grandmother  crying  and  weeping  be 
cause  the  men  of  the  village  had  not  only  teased  him 
on  account  of  his  poor  clothing  but  had  almost  torn 
his  coat  into  pieces.  His  grandmother  entreated 
the  men  to  stop  teasing  the  poor  boy,  who  could  not 
help  his  poverty.  She  would  patiently  mend  his 
poor  torn  clothes  and  try  to  cheer  him  up  with  the 
hope  that  soon  these  foolish,  cruel  men  would  see 
how  wrong  it  was  to  treat  him  thus. 

"But  they  only  seemed  to  get  worse  instead  of 
better,  and  so  the  grandmother  got  very  angry  at 
last  and  determined  to  have  it  stopped. 

"So  she  went  off  to  Wakonda  and  told  him  all 
about  it.  Wakonda  was  very  busy  just  then,  but  he 
gave  her  some  of  his  magical  powers  and  told  her 
what  to  do  when  she  reached  her  home. 

"When  she  arrived  there  she  found  her  grandson 
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ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

almost  naked  from  the  abuse  of  the  cruel  men,  who, 
finding  that  she  was  absent,  had  been  more  cruel 
than  ever  to  him.  She  then  informed  him  that  she 
was  able  now  to  put  a  stop  to  all  their  cruel  actions. 
So  she  told  him  to  dive  into  a  pool  of  water  that 
was  near  at  hand.  He  did  as  she  had  commanded, 
and  there  he  found  an  underground  channel  that 
led  out  into  the  great  lake. 

"When  he  came  up  to  the  top  of  the  water  in  the 
lake  he  found  himself  transformed  into  a  beautiful 
seal.  He  at  once  begun  playing  about  in  the  waves 
as  seals  are  often  seen  doing. 

"It  was  not  long  before  he  was  seen  by  the  people 
of  the  village,  and,  of  course,  the  men  were  very 
anxious  to  secure  this  valuable  seal.  Canoes  were 
quickly  launched  and  away  the  men  paddled  with 
their  spears  to  try  and  capture  it.  But  the  boy,  now 
transformed  into  the  seal,  quickly  swam  away  from 
them,  as  instructed  by  his  grandmother,  and  so  kept 
them  busy  paddling  on  and  on  farther  from  the 
shore.  When  they  seemed  almost  discouraged  the 
seal  would  suddenly  dive  down,  and  then  reappear 
in  the  water  just  behind  them.  Then,  before  the 
men  could  turn  around  and  spear  him,  he  as  sud 
denly  dived  under  the  water  again.  The  pursuit 
was  so  exciting  that  these  cruel  men  did  not  notice 
how  far  out  from  land  they  had  now  come.  They 
did,  however,  after  a  time  see  their  danger,  for  sud 
denly  a  fierce  gale  sprang  up,  and  the  waves  rose  in 
such  fury  that  they  upset  the  canoes  and  all  of  the 
wicked  men  were  drowned.  When  the  old  grand- 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

mother  saw  this  she  once  more  exerted  the  magical 
powers  with  which  she  had  been  intrusted  by  Wa- 
konda,  and  calling  to  her  grandson  to  return  home 
he  instantly  complied  with  her  request.  He  speedily 
swam  back  to  her,  and  she  at  once  transformed  him 
into  his  human  form. 

"Thus  freed  from  his  tormentors,  he  very  rapidly 
grew  up  to  manhood  and  became  a  great  hunter,  and 
was  kind  to  his  grandmother  as  long  as  she  lived." 


• 


72 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 


CHAPTER    VI. 

Souwanas  Tells  of  the  Origin  and  Queer  Doings  of 
Nanahboozhoo— How  He  Lost  His  Brother  Nahpootee, 
the  Wolf— Why  the  Kingfisher  Wears  a  White  Collar. 

HO  was  this  Nanahboozhoo  that 
we  are  hearing  so  much  about  ?" 
Thus  was  the  old  story-teller 
addressed     by     Sagastao,     who 
always   was   anxious   to   learn   about 
those  who  interested  him. 
The  old  man  began  in  this  way : 
"When    the    great    mountains    are 
wrapped  in  the  clouds  we  do  not  see 
them  very  well.    So  it  is  with  Nanah 
boozhoo.     The  long  years  that  have 
passed  since  he  lived  have,  like  the 
fogs  and  mists,  made  it  less  easy  to  say 
exactly  who  he  really  was,  but  I  will 
try  to  tell  you.     Nanahboozhoo  was  not  from  one 
tribe  only,  but  from  all  the  Indians.     Hence  it  is 
that  his  very  name  is  so  different. 

"The  Ojibway  call  him  Mishawabus — Great  Rab 
bit;  the  Menomini  call  him  Manabush.  He  had 
other  names  also.  One  tribe  called  him  Jouskeha, 
another  Messou,  another  Manabozho,  and  another 
Hiawatha.  His  father  was  Mudjekeewis,  the  West 
Wind.  There  was  an  old  woman  named  Nokomis, 

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ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

magical  musical  sticks  which  she  alone  could  make. 
His  grandmother  made  him  four  sticks,  and  with 
these  he  used  to  beat  time  when  singing  his  queer 
songs.  Some  of  them  were  very  queer,  and  ended 
up  with  'He!  he!  ho!  ho!  ha!  ha!  hi!  hi!'  Others 
were  in  reference  to  some  special  benefits  he  would 
confer  on  his  uncles.  In  one  of  them,  referring  to 
his  going  to  steal  the  fire  for  them,  he  sings : 

"  'Help  to  my  uncles  I'm  bringing, 
Their  sorrows  I'll  change  into  singing. 
From  their  enemies  the  fire  I'll  steal, 
That  its  warmth  the  children  may  feel. 

"  'Disguised  will  be  Nanahboozhoo, 
That  his  work  may  the  better  be  done ; 
But  his  jolly  deeds  ever  will  tell  who 
Has  been  sporting  around  in  his  fun/ 

"At  first  he  was  a  jolly  fellow,  full  of  fun,  and 
did  lots  of  good  things  for  his  uncles.  He  showed 
them  the  plants  and  roots  good  for  food,  and  taught 
them  the  arts  of  surgery  and  medicine,  but  as  the 
years  went  by  he  did  some  things  that  caused  him  to 
be  feared  very  much.  His  uncles  always  went  to 
him  when  they  got  into  trouble,  but  whether  he 
would  help  them  or  not  depended  much  on  the 
humor  he  was  in  when  they  came. 

"After  he  had  lived  for  years  in  the  first  wigwam 
which  he  had  built,  and  taught  the  people  of  the 
earth  many  things,  his  father,  the  West  Wind,  held 
a  council  with  the  North  Wind  and  the  South  Wind 

76 


The  beautiful  reflections  in  the  water. 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

and  the  East  Wind,  and  as  Nanahboozhoo  was  never 
married,  and  was  living  such  a  lonely  life,  they  de 
termined  to  restore  to  life,  and  give  to  reside  with 
him,  his  twin  brother  who  had  died  at  his  birth. 
The  name  of  this  brother  was  Nahpootee,  which 
means  the  Skillful  Hunter.  Nanahboozhoo  was  very 
fond  of  him,  and  took  great  care  of  him.  He  grew 
very  rapidly,  and  he  and  Nanahboozhoo  were  very 
great  friends.  Like  Nanahboozhoo,  Nahpootee 
could  disguise  himself  in  any  form  he  chose.  One 
favorite  form  he  often  assumed  was  that  of  a  wolf, 
as  he  was  often  away  on  hunting  excursions.  The 
evil  spirits,  or  Windegoos,  who  dwell  under  the  land 
and  sea,  had  never  been  able  to  do  much  harm  to 
Nanahboozhoo,  he  was  too  clever  for  them;  and 
although  they  often  tried  he  generally  worsted 
them.  Now  they  were  doubly  angry  when  they 
heard  that  Nahpootee  had  been  restored  to  life  and 
was  living  with  him.  Nanahboozhoo  warned  his 
brother  of  their  enmity,  and  of  the  necessity  of  being 
on  his  guard  against  them. 

"These  brothers  moved  far  away  and  built  their 
wigwam  in  a  lonely  country  on  the  shore  of  a  great 
lake  which  is  now  called  Mirror  Lake,  because  of 
its  beautiful  reflections.  Here,  as  he  was  a  hunter, 
Nahpootee  was  kept  busy  supplying  the  wigwam 
with  food.  Once,  while  he  was  away  hunting,  Na 
nahboozhoo  discovered  that  some  of  the  evil  Mune- 
doos  dwelt  in  the  bottom  of  the  very  lake  on  the 
shores  of  which  they  had  built  their  wigwam.  So 
he  warned  his  brother,  Nahpootee,  never  to  cross 

77 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

that  lake,  but  always  to  go  around  on  the  shore,  and 
for  some  time  he  remembered  this  warning  and  was 
not  attacked.  But  one  cold  winter  day,  when  he 
had  been  out  for  a  long  time  hunting,  he  found  him 
self  exactly  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  lake  from 
the  wigwam.  The  ice  seemed  strong,  and  as  the 
distance  was  shorter  he  decided  that,  rather  than 
walk  around  on  the  shore,  he  would  cross  on  the  ice. 
.When  about  half-way  across  the  lake  the  ice  broke, 
he  was  seized  by  the  evil  Munedoos  and  drowned. 

"When  Nahpootee  failed  to  return  to  the  wigwam 
Nanahboozhoo  was  filled  with  alarm  and  at  once 
began  searching  everywhere  for  his  loved,  lost 
brother.  One  day  when  he  was  walking  under  some 
trees  at  the  lake  he  beheld,  high  up  among  the 
branches,  Ookiskimunisew,  the  kingfisher. 

"'What  are  you  doing  there?*  asked  Nanah 
boozhoo. 

"  The  bad  Munedoos  have  killed  Nahpootee/ 
Ookiskimunisew  replied,  'and  soon  they  are  going 
to  throw  his  body  up  on  the  shore  and  I  am  going 
to  feast  on  it !' 

'This  answer  made  Nanahboozhoo  very  angry, 
but  he  concealed  his  feelings. 

"  'Come  down  here,  handsome  bird/  he  said, 
'and  I'll  give  you  this  collar  to  hang  on  your  neck/ 

"The  kingfisher  suspected  that  the  speaker  was 
Nanahboozhoo,  the  brother  of  Nahpootee,  and  he 
was  afraid  to  descend. 

"  'Come  down,  and  have  no  fear/  said  Nanah 
boozhoo,  in  a  friendly  tone.  'I  only  want  to  give  you 

78 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

this  beautiful  necklace  to  wear,  with  the  white  shell 
hanging  from  it.' 

"On  hearing  this  the  kingfisher  came  down,  but 
suspecting  that  Nanahboozhoo  would  be  up  to  some 
of  his  tricks  he  kept  a  sharp  watch  on  him.  Nanah 
boozhoo  placed  the  necklace  about  the  neck  of  the 
bird  so  that  the  beautiful  white  shell  should  be  over 
the  breast.  Then  he  pretended  to  tie  the  ends  be 
hind,  but  just  as  he  had  made  a  half  knot  in  the 
cord,  and  was  going  to  tighten  it  and  strangle  the 
bird,  the  latter  was  too  quick  for  him  and  suddenly 
slipped  away  and  escaped.  He  kept  the  necklace, 
however,  and  the  white  spot  may  be  seen  on  the 
breast  of  the  kingfisher  to  this  day. 

"Soon  after  this  the  shade  or  ghost  of  Nahpootee 
appeared  to  Nanahboozhoo  and  told  him  that,  as  his 
death  was  the  result  of  his  own  carelessness,  in  not 
keeping  on  the  land,  he  would  not  be  restored  to  live 
here,  but  was  even  now  on  his  way  to  the  Happy 
Hunting  Grounds,  in  the  Land  of  the  Setting  Sun, 
beyond  the  Great  Mountains. 

"Nanahboozhoo  was  deeply  moved  by  the  loss  of 
his  brother,  who  had  been  such  a  pleasant  companion 
to  him.  So  great  was  his  grief  that  at  times  the 
earth  trembled  and  the  evil  spirits  dwelling  under 
the  land  or  water  were  much  terrified,  for  they  knew 
they  would  be  terribly  punished  by  Nanahboozhoo 
if  he  should  ever  get  them  in  his  power.  But  it  was 
a  long  time  before  he  had  an  opportunity  to  get  his 
revenge  on  them  for  the  death  of  his  brother.  How 
he  did  it  I  will  tell  you  at  some  future  time." 

79 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 


CHAPTER   VII. 

The  Legend  of  the  Bad  Boy — How  He  was  Carried  Away 
by  Annungitee,  and  How  He  was  Rescued  by  His  Mother. 

ELL  us,  Mary,  a  story  about  the  boys 
of  the  old  times  among  the  Indians/ ' 
said  Sagastao. 

"About  bad  boys,"  said  Minnehaha 
with  a  mischievous  look  in  her  eyes; 
"for  this  morning  brother  and  papa 
had  to  have  a  'settlement/  and  it 
might  do  Sagastao  good  to  hear  about  other  bad 
boys  and  what  was  done  with  them." 

These  words  of  Minnehaha  made  Mary  very 
angry.  She  thought  more  of  Sagastao  than  she  did 
of  any  other  member  of  the  family,  and  nothing 
threw  her  into  a  rage  quicker  than  for  anyone  to 
cross  him  or  even  to  question  the  wisdom  of  any 
thing  he  said.  Now,  indignant  that  his  father  had 
been  obliged  to  call  him  into  his  study  for  some  mis 
demeanor,  Mary  was  greatly  annoyed  to  hear  these 
words. 

"O,  pshaw,  Sakehow,"  said  Sagastao;  "do  not 
be  so  touchy.  I  deserved  the  talking  to  that  papa 
gave  me.  It  was  wrong  of  me  to  whack  that  Indian 
boy  with  my  bat  as  I  did,  and  I  ought  to  have  been 
punished;  so  if  you  have  any  jolly  good  stories 

80 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

about  bad  Indian  boys,  and  how  they  were  punished, 
why,  let  us  have  one." 

This  confession  of  her  favorite,  who,  after  his 
temper  cooled,  was  always  quick  to  admit  that  he 
had  been  in  the  wrong,  quite  pacified  Mary,  and  she 
settled  down  on  the  wolfskin  rug  with  the  children 
and  began  her  story. 


"Long  ago  all  the  Indians  believed  in  Windegoos 
and  other  spirits  that  were  more  or  less  friendly  to 
good  people.  Some  were  man-eaters  and,  of  course, 
were  always  to  be  feared.  Some  Indians  were  in 
such  fear  of  these  cannibals  that  they  would  never 
leave  the  wigwam  after  dark  for  fear  of  being 
gobbled  up  by  some  of  the  monsters  that  might  be 
skulking  about. 

"There  was  one  great  creature  called  Annun- 
gitee,  or  Two  Faced.  He  had  a  great  habit  of  look 
ing  out  for  bad  boys,  very  bad  boys.  It  was  said 
that  he  could  not  see  really  good  boys;  that  they 
were  like  glass,  and  he  could  not  see  them.  But 
when  a  boy  became  very  bad  he  was  then  so  black 
that  he  was  easily  seen,  and  Annungitee  could  espy 
him  a  long  way  off  and  was  very  likely  to  come 
after  him. 

"Fortunately  Annungitee  always  made  a  noise 
when  he  was  passing  along.  This  was  a  good  thing 
for  bad  boys,  for  it  gave  them  time  to  scurry  into 
the  wigwams,  out  of  his  way.  He  was  so  big  that 

when  he  set  one  of  his  feet  down  on  the  ground 

81 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

there  would  be  sounds  like  the  ringing  of  bells  and 
the  hooting  of  owls.  When  he  put  the  other  foot 
down  the  sound  was  like  the  roaring  of  buffalo  bulls 
when  they  are  going  to  fight  each  other.  Even  when 
he  tried  to  move  softly  there  would  be  sounds  like 
birds  and  beasts  crying  out.  All  the  Indians  who 
had  heard  this  great  terrible  fellow  were  afraid  of 
him,  and  yet  no  two  were  able  to  give  the  same  de 
scription  of  him.  But  they  did  agree  on  one  thing, 
and  that  was  that  when  he  caught  a  very  wicked 
man,  which  he  did  sometimes,  or  very  bad  boys, 
which  he  often  did,  he  just  threw  him  into  one  of 
his  big  ears  and  held  him  there.  Indeed,  it  was  be 
lieved  that  he  could  hold  three  big  men  or  six  bad 
boys  in  one  of  his  ears  at  the  same  time.  Nobody 
knew  where  he  lived,  as  no  one  had  been  found 
brave  enough  to  follow  and  see,  and  no  daring  hun 
ter  had  ever  found  his  abode  in  any  of  his  hunting 
expeditions. 

"Now  a  certain  Indian  man  and  his  wife  who 
lived  in  a  wigwam  quite  apart  from  other  fam 
ilies  had  one  boy.  He  was  their  only  child.  He 
had  been  a  very  bad,  cruel,  unkind  boy.  His  father 
had  to  work  hard  as  a  hunter  to  obtain  sufficient 
game  to  keep  them  from  starving.  His  mother  cut 
the  wood,  carried  up  the  water  from  the  distant 
river,  dressed  the  skins  of  the  animals  that  were 
shot  by  her  husband,  and  did  all  the  work  of  the 
wigwam.  The  boy  would  not  lift  a  finger  to  help 
in  any  way.  One  day  the  mother,  who  was  quite 
sick,  asked  him  to  go  for  some  water.  He  refused, 

82 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

and  was  very  saucy  to  her.  Then  she  asked  him  if 
he  would  please  bring  in  some  wood  for  her,  as  she 
felt  cold.  No,  he  would  not  do  anything  of  the  kind. 
She  then  became  quite  angry  with  him,  and  said : 

"If  you  do  not  be  a  better  boy  I  will  put  you 
out  of  the  wigwam,  and  Annungitee  will  toss  you 
into  his  ear.' 

"All  the  same,  she  did  not  really  believe  he  would, 
as  she  had  not  heard  of  Annungitee  or  any  other 
kind  of  ghost  being  around  for  a  long,  long 
time.  She  only  said  what  she  did  to  frighten 
the  bad  boy  into  obedience.  Indeed  she  had 
often  said  to  him,  when  she  was  angry  with 
him,  'I  do  hope  a  ghost  will  catch  you.'  But 
the  more  she  talked  to  him  the  worse  he  be 
came.  So  one  day  when  he  had  been  very  lazy  and 
very  rude  to  her  she  sprang  up  and,  seizing  him  by 
the  arm,  undertook  to  put  him  out  of  the  wigwam. 
He  became  much  frightened  at  this  and  began  to 
cry.  But  she,  knowing  that  he  deserved  to  be  pun 
ished,  pushed  him  out  and  securely  fastened  the 
doorway,  calling  out : 

"  'May  Annungitee  catch  you !' 

"She  did  not  really  mean  it,  of  course.  No 
mother  could  wish  her  boy  to  have  such  a  terrible 
misfortune.  The  frightened  boy  then  began  run 
ning  round  and  round  the  wigwam,  trying  to  find 
some  place  where  he  could  get  in,  but  he  could  find 
no  opening.  After  a  while  his  crying  and  his 
efforts  to  get  into  the  wigwam  ceased,  and  all  be 
came  still  and  silent.  His  mother  listened  atten- 

83 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

lively,  and  every  moment  expected  to  hear  his  voice 
again,  but  there  was  no  sound  except  something  like 
the  sound  of  the  singing  of  birds  and  the  rattling  of 
small  bells  dying  away  in  the  distance.  At  this  she 
became  very  much  frightened  and  began  to  cry,  and 
to  call  for  her  boy.  She  threw  open  the  door  flap 
and  began  to  search  all  around  her  wigwam  for  her 
son.  But  all  in  vain !  He  was  nowhere  to  be  found. 

"When  the  father  came  home  from  his  hunting 
she  told  him  of  the  sudden  disappearance  of  their 
boy,  and  he,  too,  was  very  much  alarmed.  They  set 
out  and  visited  the  lodges  of  all  the  people  around. 
But  no  one  had  seen  or  heard  anything  of  the  miss 
ing  boy.  They  returned  to  their  own  silent  wig 
wam  very  sorrowful,  and  for  days  they  mourned 
over  the  loss  of  their  son.  One  night,  as  the  mother 
was  weeping  on  account  of  her  great  loss,  she  heard 
some  one  crying  out  to  her : 

"  'Hi !  Hi !'  and  at  the  same  time  she  heard  the 
sounds  of  bells  ringing  and  owls  hooting.  This 
happened  several  nights,  and  then  one  night  there 
was  a  voice  saying : 

"'You  said,  "Ghost,  take  that  boy."    Hi!    Hi!' 

"Next  morning  the  wife  told  her  husband  what 
she  had  heard  during  the  previous  night,  and  she 
added : 

"  'I  believe  the  ghost  Annungitee  has  taken  our 
boy.' 

"Her  husband  was  very  angry  when  he  heard 
this,  and  said : 

"  'Yes,  a  ghost  has  taken  our  boy.  You  gave  him 
84 


"They  tumbled  the  tall  ghost  over. 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

to  him,  and  he  has  taken  you  at  your  word.  So  why 
should  you  complain?  It  serves  you  right/ 

"At  this  the  mother  lifted  up  her  voice  and  cried 
out  so  loud  that  it  could  be  heard  a  great  distance. 

"  'Husband,'  she  said,  'I  deserve  what  you  have 
said,  but  I  am  going  to  try  and  get  back  our  boy, 
and  so  to-night  I  will  hide  in  the  pile  of  wood  that 
is  outside  the  wigwam,  and  if  the  ghost  comes  along 
again,  as  he  has  been  coming,  I  will  catch  him  by 
the  leg,  and  you  must  rush  out  and  try  to  rescue 
our  son.' 

"So  that  night  she  hid  herself  in  the  wood  pile, 
and,  sure  enough,  after  a  while  she  heard  the  sound 
of  bells  ringing  and  animals  softly  crying  out,  and 
then  a  loud  'Hi !  Hi !'  after  which  all  was  still. 

"Then,  as  she  cautiously  looked  out  from  her 
hiding  place,  there  before  her  was  a  great  creature 
standing  beside  the  wigwam.  He  was  so  tall  that  his 
head  was  higher  than  the  smoke  hole  at  the  top,  and 
he  was  peeping  down  into  the  wigwam.  But,  big 
as  he  was,  she  had  a  mother's  loving  heart  after  all, 
and  as  she  thought  of  her  boy  fastened  up  there  in 
one  of  his  big  ears  she  was  determined  to  rescue 
him  if  possible.  So  she  cautiously  moved  along 
until  she  was  able  to  seize  one  of  his  legs,  which 
she  did  with  all  her  strength,  and  at  the  same  in 
stant  she  shouted  for  her  husband  to  come  and 
help.  Out  he  rushed,  and  between  them  they 
tumbled  the  tall  ghost  over  and,  sure  enough,  in  one 
of  his  big  ears  they  found  their  little  boy. 

"Poor  little  fellow.  He  was  half-starved,  and  so 
8s 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

thin  and  weak  that  he  could  hardly  stand.  But  they 
helped  him  into  the  wigwam  and  gave  him  some 
soup,  made  out  of  some  birds  that  his  father  had 
killed  that  day. 

'The  tall  ghost  was  so  frightened  by  the  sudden 
way  in  which  he  had  been  seized  that  as  soon  as  he 
could  get  up  he  hurried  away,  and  was  never  seen 
in  that  part  of  the  country  again.  Some  tribes  say 
he  went  South,  and  there,  when  he  was  stealing  chil 
dren  and  carrying  them  off  in  his  ears,  he  was 
caught  by  the  angry  parents  and  burned  to  death 
on  a  big  wood  pile." 

"Did  the  little  boy  get  better?"  asked  Minnehaha. 

"O  yes,  he  did,  after  a  while;  but  he  was  a  long 
time  in  getting  over  the  fright  he  had  had.  It  did 
him  good,  however,  for  after  that  he  was  never  rude 
and  saucy  to  his  mother  and  did  all  he  could  to 
help  her." 

"Did  it  do  the  mother  any  good?"  asked  Sagas- 
tao,  who  had  not  been  altogether  satisfied  with  her 
treatment  of  the  boy. 

"Yes,  indeed,"  said  Mary;  "for  after  that  terrible 
fright  she  was  never  known  to  shout  out  at  her  boy 
such  words  as,  'I  hope  the  ghost  will  catch  you/  or 
any  other  of  the  unpleasant  ones  which  she  some 
times  had  used  when  she  was  angry  with  him." 

"Thank  you,  Sakehow,"  said  both  the  children. 
"A  pretty  good  story,  that." 

Then  what  a  jolly  romp  they  had  with  Jack  and 
Cuffy!  The  two  splendid  dogs  were  the  children's 
special  protectors  and  companions. 

86 


bo 

o 
TJ 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 


CHAPTER   VIII. 


Happy  Christmas  Holidays — In 
dians  Made  Glad  with  Presents 
— Souwanas  Tells  How  Na- 
nahboozhoo  Stole  the  Fire 
from  the  Old  Magician  and 
Gave  It  to  the  Indians. 


HE    Christmas    holidays    were    times 
of   innocent  festivities   and   gladness 
among  the  Indians  and  their    white  friends, 
both  at  the  mission  and  at  the  trading  post. 

The  gifts  which  it  was  possible  to  give  to 
the  Indians  were  not  of  very  great  value,  but 
they  were  articles  much  needed  and  were 
always  prized  by  the  recipients  even  if  they 
were  never  very  profuse  in  their  words  of  thanks. 
Minnehaha  and  Sagastao  were  wild  with  delight 
at  these  times,  and  were  eager  to  be  the  almoners 
of  the  mission,  and  carry  the  gifts  to  the  Indians 
whom  they  loved  so  well.  The  fact  that  the  tem 
perature  of  those  bright,  cold  Northern  winters  kept 
steadily  many  degrees  below  zero  did  not  chill  their 
ardor  nor  lessen  their  enthusiasm.  Their  dog  trains 
were  in  almost  constant  demand,  for  they  kept  fly 
ing  over  the  various  icy  trails  until  in  the  different 
wigwams  all  had  been  remembered  with  some  useful 
gift. 

Faithful  Mary  had  made  for  them  the  warmest 
87 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

of  fur  and  blanket  suits.  Dressed  in  these,  and 
tucked  in  among  the  robes  in  the  cariole  by  their 
careful  driver,  they  sped  along  the  trails.  They 
made  the  woods  echo  with  their  merry  shouts  and 
laughter — unless  it  was  so  bitterly  cold  that  they 
had  to  be  completely  covered  up.  It  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at  that  there  were  times  when,  on  reach 
ing  some  distant  wigwam,  there  were  little  hard, 
white  spots  on  their  cheeks  or  noses  which  told  the 
watchful  Indians  that  the  Frost  King  had  been  at 
work  and  that  speedily  those  frostbites  must  be  re 
moved.  Little  cared  they  for  the  momentary  pain 
that  ensued,  when  the  frozen  parts  were  being 
thawed  out.  They  were  out  for  a  good  time,  and 
they  had  too  much  grit  and  courage  to  let  such  trifles 
as  a  few  frostbites  disturb  their  happiness.  The 
bright  fires  burning  in  the  center  of  the  wigwams, 
or  in  the  fireplaces  at  the  end  or  side  of  the  little 
Indian  houses,  were  of  course  always  welcome  after 
a  long  run  in  the  bitter  cold. 

"Tell  us,  Souwanas,"  said  Sagastao  one  very  cold 
day,  as  they  were  gathered  around  his  wigwam  fire, 
"how  it  was  that  Nanahboozhoo  stole  the  fire  from 
those  who  were  guarding  it  and  gave  it  to  the 
Indians/' 

"It  must  not  be  too  long  a  story,"  said  Minne- 
haha,  "as  we  have  yet  to  go  to  the  wigwam  of  Kin- 
nesasis,  Little  Fish,  with  his  presents,  and  it  would 
be  too  bad  to  be  late  when  they  know  we  are 
coming." 

So  Souwanas  pledged  himself  to  make  the  story 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

as  short  as  he  could  without  spoiling  it,  and  then, 
after  a  few  more  whiffs  from  his  beloved  calumet, 
he  began : 

"It  was  long  ago,  when  there  were  fewer  people 
in  the  forests  and  on  the  prairies  than  now.  They 
did  not  have  as  many  comforts  as  they  have  now, 
and  one  of  the  rarest  things  among  them  was  fire. 
Sometimes  when  the  lightning's  flash  set  a  tree  on 
fire  they  would  have  it  for  a  little  while,  but  they 
did  not  seem  to  be  able  to  keep  it  going,  and  they 
were  often  very  cold  and  generally  had  to  eat  their 
food  without  cooking  it. 

"Nanahboozhoo  was  then  still  living  with  his 
grandmother,  Nokomis,  and  was  sorry  to  see  that 
she  often  suffered  from  the  cold  and  that  the  food 
was  miserable  because  it  was  not  cooked.  So  he 
set  his  wits  to  work  and  decided  that  something 
must  be  done.  As  he  should  now  have  to  deal  with 
the  Muche  Munedoos,  evil  spirits,  he  had  to  be  very 
careful.  He  put  himself  in  various  disguises  and 
at  length  he  heard  all  about  how  the  coyote  had 
stolen  some  of  the  fire  from  the  watchers  in  the  un 
derground  world,  who  possess  enormous  quantities 
of  it.  It  frightened  him  a  little  when  he  heard  that 
there  was  so  much  fire  in  the  world  under  us,  but 
he  was  not  apt  to  be  afraid  very  long  and  so  as  he 
went  on  searching,  and  on  the  sly  listening  to  the 
talks  of  windegoos  and  others,  he  found  that  the 
fire  for  which  he  had  been  so  long  searching  was  in 
the  possession  of  a  fierce  old  medicine  warrior  who 
guarded  it  with  the  greatest  care.  Those  who  had 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

employed  the  coyote  to  get  it  had  intrusted  its  keep 
ing  to  him.  In  those  days  they  had  an  idea  that  fire 
was  such  a  dangerous  thing  that  it  would  be  almost 
certain  destruction  to  the  race  if  it  was  given  to  all. 
This  old  warrior  had  his  two  daughters,  who  were 
great,  fierce  women,  to  assist  him  in  guarding  the 
fire. 

"Several  attempts  had  been  made  to  steal  the  fire 
ere  Nanahboozhoo  resolved  to  see  what  he  could 
do.  All  of  these  other  efforts  had  failed,  and  the 
parties  who  tried  them  were  killed.  Nokomis  heard 
of  these  unsuccessful  attempts  and  tried  to  dissuade 
her  grandson,  Nanahboozhoo,  from  such  a  dangerous 
enterprise. 

"Nanahboozhoo,  however,  was  a  very  skillful  fel 
low,  and  although  this  was  one  of  his  first  great 
undertakings,  for  it  was  long  ago,  he  was  not  to  be 
stopped  by  her  fears,  and  so  away  he  went.  As  the 
ice  was  not  yet  on  the  waters  he  took  his  birch 
canoe  and  paddled  eastward  as  far  as  he  could.  Then 
he  hid  his  canoe  where  he  could  easily  find  it  on  his 
return. 

"The  next  thing  he  did  was  to  transform  himself 
into  a  rabbit,  and  in  that  shape  he  hurried  on  until 
he  saw  in  the  distance  the  sacred  wigwam  where 
dwelt  the  old  guardian  of  the  fire  and  his  two  daugh 
ters,  who  were  famous  for  their  height  and  their 
strength.  To  excite  the  pity  of  these  daughters 
Nanahboozhoo  jumped  into  some  water,  and  then 
crawling  out,  wet  and  cold,  he  slowly  approached 
the  wigwam.  Here  the  two  daughters  found  him, 

90 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

and  he  looked  so  miserable  that  they  took  pity  on 
him  and  at  once  carried  him  into  the  wigwam  and 
set  him  down  near  the  sacred  fire,  that  he  might  soon 
get  warm  and  dry." 

"How  very  kind  that  was  of  the  old  man's  daugh 
ters/'  said  Minnehaha. 

"I  don't  know  about  that,"  said  the  more  matter- 
of-fact  Sagastao;  "folks  sometimes  get  into  trouble 
by  taking  up  everything  that  comes  along.  Remem 
ber  that  old  rascal  that  humbugged  father." 

But  Souwanas,  remembering  his  promise,  adroitly 
shunted  off  the  youngsters  and  resumed  his  story. 

"The  two  girls,  after  seeing  how  contented  and 
happy  the  rabbit  seemed  to  be  as  it  warmed  itself 
by  the  fire,  again  returned  to  their  duties  in  different 
parts  of  the  large  wigwam.  The  rabbit  soon  after 
hopped  a  little  nearer  to  the  fire,  that  he  might  be 
able  to  seize  hold  of  a  burning  stick  or  brand,  but 
as  he  moved  the  ground  shook  and  trembled  under 
him  so  that  it  awoke  the  old  man,  who  had  fallen 
into  a  heavy  sleep.  Thus  disturbed,  he  called  out 
to  his  daughters  in  alarm : 

"  'My  daughters,  what  was  it  that  caused  the 
ground  to  tremble?' 

"The  girls  replied  that  they  did  not  know.  They 
had  done  nothing  beyond  their  usual  work  except  to 
bring  in  to  warm  a  poor  little  shivering  half- frozen 
rabbit  that  they  had  found  outside,  At  first  the  old 
man  was  a  little  suspicious  and,  rolling  over,  he  took 
a  good  look  at  Nanahboozhoo.  But  he  had  made 
himself  into  such  a  poor  little  wretched  half-drowned 

91 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

rabbit  that  the  old  man's  suspicions  were  completely 
dispelled,  and  he  turned  over  again  and  went  to 
sleep. 

"Nanahboozhoo  was  pleased  to  hear  the  old  man 
snoring  again,  and  he  only  waited  now  until  the  two 
girls  should  both  be  busy  in  the  wigwam  on  the 
opposite  side  from  the  door;  then  he  suddenly 
changed  himself  into  a  fleet  young  Indian  runner, 
and  quickly  seizing  hold  of  a  burning  stick  he  dashed 
out  of  the  wigwam  and  away  he  rushed  toward  the 
place  where  he  had  left  his  canoe. 

"Of  course  there  was  instant  pursuit.  The  two 
daughters,  although  they  were  magicians,  like  their 
father,  well  knew  that  they  would  be  punished  by 
the  superior  evil  spirits  if  they  allowed  any  of  the 
sacred  fire  to  be  stolen,  and  they  were  furious  at  the 
cunning  and  deceitful  Nanahboozhoo,  whom  they 
now  recognized,  for  playing  such  a  trick  upon  them. 
Shouting  to  their  father,  to  arouse  him,  they  imme 
diately  ran  after  the  retreating  Nanahboozhoo,  who 
with  the  burning  brand  in  his  hand  was  speeding 
rapidly  over  the  trail.  But,  fleet  as  he  was,  he  soon 
discovered  that  the  two  girls,  by  their  magic,  were 
rapidly  gaining  upon  him.  They  were  the  fleetest 
of  runners,  even  if  they  were  girls,  and  it  was  for 
that  reason  that  they  and  their  father  were  intrusted 
with  the  sacred  fire.  Great  honors  were  to  be  theirs 
if  they  guarded  it  to  the  satisfaction  of  those  who 
had  intrusted  it  to  them,  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
great  would  be  their  disgrace  if  they  failed  in  their 
duty. 

92 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

"When  they  found  that  they  were  gaining  on 
Nanahboozhoo,  and  were  likely  to  regain  possession 
of  the  firebrand,  with  shouts  and  threats  they  de 
clared  that  severe  indeed  would  be  his  punishment, 
when  he  fell  into  their  hands,  for  his  abuse  of  their 
kindness  and  his  trickery. 

"Nanahboozhoo  felt  that  he  was  indeed  in  a  tight 
place.  He  did  not,  however,  intend  to  be  overtaken, 
and  he  sped  on,  if  possible  faster  than  ever,  until 
there  was  only  a  large  dried-up,  barren  meadow  be 
tween  him  and  the  spot  where  he  had  tied  his  canoe 
on  the  shore  of  the  lake.  The  girls  were  only  a  few 
hundred  yards  behind  him,  and  he  resolved  to  fight 
them  with  this  sacred  fire.  So,  as  he  rapidly  con 
tinued  his  flight,  he  plunged  the  now  blazing  fire 
brand  into  the  dry  grass,  here  and  there,  on  each 
side  of  the  trail  The  wind  was  in  his  face,  and  it 
carried  back  the  fierce  blaze  and  dense  black  smoke 
and  not  only  quickly  hid  him  from  the  sight  of  his 
pursuers  but  also  made  it  very  dangerous  for  them 
to  follow  him. 

"Nanahboozhoo  thus  succeeded  in  reaching  his 
canoe,  and  fixing  the  burning  brand  in  one  end  of 
the  boat  he  was  soon  rapidly  paddling  over  the 
waters  toward  his  distant  home.  The  flying  sparks 
of  the  torch  burnt  him  badly  in  several  places,  but 
he  did  not  much  mind  this,  and  he  dared  not  stop 
to  dress  his  wounds  for  fear  that  his  pursuers  would 
yet  overtake  him. 

"Fortunately  he  succeeded  in  reaching  his  distant 
home.  There  at  the  shore  to  welcome  his  return 

93 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

was  Nokomis,  who  had  been  full  of  anxiety  about 
him.  She  carefully  dressed  his  burnt  face  and  hands 
and  gladly  received  the  gift  of  the  fire,  which  has 
been  such  a  blessing  to  the  Indians  ever  since. 

"At  first  there  was  a  good  deal  of  trouble  among 
the  Indians  to  keep  the  fire  burning.  Sometimes  the 
watchers  appointed  to  look  after  it,  especially  in  the 
summer  months,  would  forget  to  add  fresh  fuel,  or 
would  go  to  sleep  and  neglect  it.  Then  they  would 
have  to  send  off  to  some  perhaps  distant  wigwam, 
where  the  people  had  been  more  careful,  and  secure 
some  live  coals  from  them. 

"Nanahboozhoo  was  troubled  about  this.  He 
feared  that  if  it  were  allowed  to  die  out  at  the  same 
time  in  all  of  the  wigwams  he  might  not  be  so  suc 
cessful  again  if  he  had  to  try  to  get  a  fresh  supply 
from  the  fierce  old  man  and  his  now  wrathful  daugh 
ters.  So  he  went  out  into  the  woods  and  at  length 
a  good  spirit  came  to  him  in  a  dream  and  told  him 
of  various  ways  in  which  the  fire  could  be  obtained. 
He  showed  him  how  it  could  be  made,  by  rapid  fric 
tion,  with  dry  sticks.  Another  way  he  revealed  to 
him  was  by  the  striking  together  of  a  flint  stone  and 
a  piece  of  iron;  sparks  of  fire  could  thus  be  pro 
duced  which,  caught  in  punk,  would  soon  become  a 
blaze.  So  now  the  Indians  do  not  have  to  cover  up 
the  fires  as  they  were  formerly  obliged  to  do;  thanks 
to  Nanahboozhoo's  dreams,  they  can  make  it  fresh 
whenever  they  want  it." 

"Hurrah  for  Nanahboozhoo  for  his  good  work 
this  time !"  said  Sagastao. 

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ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

"Well,  I  think  he  was  a  mean  fellow,  to  so  fool 
those  two  nice  girls  who  took  him  in  and  warmed 
him  when  he  was  a  poor  little  wet  shivering  rabbit!" 
said  Minnehaha. 

"Took  him  in?"  the  lad  retorted.  "Well,  I  guess 
it  was  well  he  was  able  to  take  them  in  as  he  did,  by 
setting  fire  to  that  old  grass  in  the  meadow,  for  if 
he  had  not  done  so  they  would  soon  have  had  his 
scalp." 

But  here  Minnehaha  appealed  to  Souwanas,  and 
said: 

"I  have  been  wondering  how  it  was  the  old  man 
and  his  daughters  got  the  fire  in  the  first  place  from 
out  of  the  underground.  Will  you  not  tell  us  that 
story  some  time  ?" 

The  old  man  looked  grave  and  was  silent  for  a 
minute  or  two,  then  he  replied : 

"I  think  you  had  better  ask  Kinnesasis.  He 
knows  the  story  better  than  I  do,  for  in  his  youth  he 
traveled  far  West,  into  the  land  of  the  high  moun 
tains,  where  the  legend  is  that  the  fire  was  stolen 
out  of  the  center  of  the  earth." 

"All  right.  Thank  you,  Souwanas.  We  are  go 
ing  to  take  Kinnesasis  some  presents,  and  while 
there  we  will  ask  him  for  the  story." 

Here  an  Indian  lad  rushed  into  the  wigwam  with 
the  word  that  Kennedy  was  coming  with  their 
cariole.  The  children  were  well  wrapped  up,  and 
soon  with  their  usual  happy,  "Wat  cheer!  Wat 
cheer!"  they  were  speeding  homeward. 


95 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 


CHAPTER    IX. 

Kinnesasis — How  the  Coyote  Obtained  the  Fire  from  the 
Interior  of  the  Earth. 

GREAT    time  the  children  had  in 
the  wigwam  of  Kinnesasis.     He 
was  such  a  jolly  little  old  Indian, 
and  he  was  specially  happy  to-day 
when  the  children  opened  out  the 
gifts  and  presented  them.    He  was 
more  than  delighted  with  a  suit 
fer  of  black  clothes  sent  him  from  a 
distance  by  friends  who  had  heard 
about   him   and   his  needs.      He 
quickly    put    on     the  whole  suit, 
which  fitted  him  very  nicely,  and 
then  much  amused  the  children  by  saying : 

"I  am  sure  the  man  who  made  these  clothes  is  in 
heaven,  or,  if  not  yet  dead,  he  will  go  to  heaven 
when  he  dies." 

"Why,  Kinnesasis,  it  is  the  kind  friends  who  sent 
you  these  clothes  you  ought  to  thank,  and  not  make 
such  a  fuss  over  the  man  who  made  them ;  he  was 
paid  for  making  them,"  said  Sagastao.  But  Kinne 
sasis  could  only  think  of  the  man  who  made  the  suit 
of  which  he  was  so  proud. 

Kinnesasis's  old  wife  was,  if  possible,  still  more 
delighted  with  her  presents  than  the  old  man  with 

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ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

his.  She  and  Minnehaha  were  always  the  best  of 
friends,  and  now  as  the  child  handed  her  gift  after 
gift  of  warm  clothing  and  food  her  joy  knew  no 
bounds,  and,  old  as  she  was,  when  some  warm  shoes 
were  given  her,  she  prang  up  and  began  singing 
an  Indian  song,  while  with  all  the  agility  of  a  young 
maiden  she  spun  around  the  wigwam  in  rhythmic 
measure  to  her  words,  which,  roughly  translated,  are 
as  follows: 

"The  Good  Spirit  has  pity  on  me, 
Though  for  days  I  had  little  to  eat, 
I  was  wretched  and  sad  in  my  heart, 
I  was  cold,  O  so  cold !  in  my  feet. 

"But  now  I  have  plenty  of  meat, 
Clothes  for  my  body>  shoes  for  my  feet, 
I'll  not  grumble,  nor  sorrow,  but  praise 
The  Good  Spirit  the  rest  of  my  days." 

"Well  done!"  shouted  the  children  when  the  old 
woman  stopped.  They  were  greatly  delighted  with 
her  performance.  Kinnesasis,  however,  who,  as  well 
as  his  wife,  was  now  a  church  member,  professed  to 
be  much  shocked  at  seeing  her  thus  dancing,  as 
though  in  the  wild  excitement  of  the  Ghost  Dance. 
But  both  Sagastao  and  Minnehaha  stood  up  for  the 
old  wife.  They  said  the  words  she  sang  were  good 
enough  for  the  church,  any  day,  and  they  were  sure 
nobody  could  find  fault  with  her  thus  showing  how 
glad  and  thankful  she  was. 

And  nobody  ever  did  find  fault  and  soon  was  the 
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ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

affair  almost  forgotten,  for  now  the  merry  jingling 
of  more  dog  bells  was  heard,  and  who  should  come 
into  the  wigwam  of  Kinnesasis  but  the  parents  of 
Sagastao  and  Minnehaha! 

Cordially  were  they  greeted.  At  first  it  was  diffi 
cult  for  them  to  recognize  the  staid  little  gentleman 
in  his  full  suit  of  broadcloth  as  the  lively  but  gener 
ally  ill-clothed  Kinnesasis.  The  visitors — who 
quickly  saw  and  were  delighted  with  the  trans 
formation — greeted  him  as  though  he  were  some 
distinguished  stranger.  This  vastly  amused  the 
children.  Screaming  with  laughter  at  Kinnesasis's 
pretense  of  keeping  up  the  farce,  they  shouted  out, 
"Why,  this  is  only  our  dear  old  Kinnesasis.  He  is 
no  great  stranger.  It  is  only  Kinnesasis  with  his 
new  clothes." 

"Well,"  then  was  asked,  "who  is  that  charming 
old  lady  over  there  with  such  a  fine  shawl  and  bril 
liant  handkerchief  on,  and  such  fancy  new  shoes  on 
her  feet  ?  Surely  she  is  a  stranger." 

"No !  No !"  the  children  again  shouted.  "Why, 
that  is  Kinnesasis's  wife,  with  her  new  presents  on ! 
My!  doesn't  she  look  nice!" 

Here  the  little  ones  seized  hold  of  the  happy  old 
Indian  woman  and  made  her  get  up  and  show  her 
self  off  in  her  new  apparel,  of  which  she  was  just 
as  proud  as  Kinnesasis. 

"And  she  gave  us  such  a  jolly  dance  in  them, 
papa!  Wouldn't  you  like  to  see  her  do  it  again?" 
cried  Minnehaha. 

But  here  Kinnesasis,  pretending  to  be  shocked 
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ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

beyond  measure,  in  a  most  diplomatic  manner 
directed  the  attention  of  the  parents  to  some  other 
matter,  and  so  the  mischievous  child  did  not  succeed 
in  making  a  church  scandal  by  inducing  one  of  the 
flock  to  dance  before  the  missionary. 

'Tell  us,  Kinnesasis,"  said  Sagastao,  "how  it  was 
that  that  old  man  and  his  daughters  first  obtained 
the  fire  which  Nanahboozhoo  so  cleverly  stole  from 
them  and  gave  to  the  Indians  long  ago." 

At  first  Kinnesasis  hesitated  about  telling  the  old 
legend,  saying  that  he  did  not  think  the  father  and 
mother  of  the  children  would  care  for  such  stories. 

"Don't  they,  though !"  cried  the  children.  "You 
don't  know  them  very  well,  then,  if  you  don't  know 
that  they  like  stories  just  about  as  well  as  we  do." 

And  with  this  they  at  once  appealed  to  the  parents, 
who  of  course  sided  with  them  and  expressed  their 
desire  to  listen  to  this  story  that  the  children 
had  told  them  they  were  to  hear  from  dear  old 
Kinnesasis, 

Throwing  some  more  logs  on  the  fire,  around 
which  the  white  visitors  with  the  Indians  gathered, 
Kinnesasis  began: 

"It  was  long  ago,  when  I  was  a  young  lad,  that  I 
heard  the  story  from  the  old  story-tellers  of  our 
people.  I  had  traveled  with  my  father  for  many 
days  far  toward  the  setting  sun.  We  reached  the 
land  of  the  great  mountains,  and  there,  with  our 
people  of  those  regions,  we  spent  some  moons.  It 
was  while  we  were  among  them  that  I  heard  from 
the  ancient  story-teller  the  legend  of  how  the  fire 

99 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

was  stolen  from  the  center  of  the  earth,  where  it  was 
kept  hidden  away  from  the  human  family. 

'That  there  was  such  a  thing  as  fire  was  well 
known.  It  had  been  seen  bursting  out  of  the  tops 
of  distant  mountains,  and  there  had  been  times  in 
great  thunderstorms,  when  the  lightning  had  set  fire 
to  dead  trees — and  indeed  in  this  latter  way  the  In 
dians  had  become  acquainted  with  its  value  to  the 
human  race.  But  they  had  not  taken  care  to  keep  it 
burning,  and  no  one  had  been  appointed  to  specially 
look  after  it. 

"The  reason  why  fire  had  not  been  from  the  first 
given  to  men  was  because  when  the  race  was  created 
the  fire  was  not  much  needed.  The  earth  was  then 
much  warmer  than  it  is  now.  There  was  no  snow 
or  ice  ever  seen  except  on  the  tops  of  the  very 
highest  mountains.  Great  animals  now  all  dead, 
and  others  that  could  only  live  in  the  hottest  coun 
tries,  lived  all  over  these  great  lands.  Then  there 
was  abundance  of  fruit  and  nuts  and  roots  that  were 
all  very  good  for  food.  Then  some  great  disaster 
happened  to  the  world  and  soon  it  began  to  grow 
colder  and  many  animals,  and  even  families,  per 
ished.  Snow  and  ice  appeared  where  they  were 
never  seen  before.  There  was  great  suffering  from 
the  cold.  The  hunters  began  to  kill  the  animals  for 
food.  They  were  now  not  satisfied  with  the  fruit 
and  roots,  they  wanted  something  better. 

"So  the  fire  was  much  needed.  But  where  it  was, 
or  how  to  get  it,  was  the  question.  Fortunately  an 
old  dreamer  dreamed  a  dream  about  it. 

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ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

"As  the  council  assembled  to  hear  his  dream  he 
told  them  that  the  fire  was  preserved  in  the  heart 
of  the  earth  by  a  magician  called  Sistinakoo,  and 
that  it  was  kept  very  carefully  surrounded  by  four 
walls,  one  within  the  other,  in  each  of  which  was  a 
single  door.  At  the  first  door  a  great  snake  kept 
guard.  At  the  second  door  a  mountain  lion  or  pan 
ther  was  the  guardian.  A  grizzly  bear  guarded  the 
third  door,  and  at  the  fourth  and  last  door  Sistina 
koo  himself  kept  watchful  care  over  the  precious 
fire  that  smoldered  on  a  stone  altar  just  inside  this 
last  wall 

"When  the  council  heard  all  this  they  were  almost 
discouraged.  They  thought  it  would  be  impossible 
for  anyone  to  get  by  all  of  these  guards  and  steal 
the  fire. 

"They  first  asked  the  fox  to  try,  but  he  only 
reached  the  first  door  when  the  great  snake  nearly 
made  a  meal  of  him.  Thoroughly  frightened,  he 
rushed  back  to  the  top  of  the  earth  and  told  of  his 
narrow  escape. 

"For  a  time  nothing  more  was  done  to  try  and  get 
the  fire.  The  people  continued  to  suffer,  for  the 
earth  kept  getting  colder  and  colder  and  ice  and 
snow  were  now  to  be  found  in  lands  that  had  pre 
viously  been  comfortably  warm.  So  the  council 
was  called  again,  and  the  question  again  raised  as  to 
what  could  be  done. 

"It  happened  that  there  came  to  the  council  a 
very  old  man  who  remembered  a  tradition,  handed 
down  from  his  forefathers,  which  said  that  part  of 

101 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

the  earth  beneath  us  was  hollow,  and  that  some  of 
the  animals,  even  the  great  buffaloes,  had  dwelt  in 
those  underground  regions  before  they  came  to 
dwell  on  the  surface  of  the  earth.  He  said  that  the 
coyote,  the  prairie  wolf,  was  the  last  one  to  leave, 
and  that  he  was  sure  that  he  still  remembered  the 
route  to  the  very  spot  where  Sistinakoo,  the  head 
chief  of  the  regions,  guarded  the  fire  so  jealously." 

"Why  should  they  so  guard  the  fire,  and  be  so 
careful  about  letting  people  have  it,  when  we  know 
how  good  it  is?"  asked  Minnehaha. 

"Because,"  replied  Kinnesasis,  "there  was  a  tradi 
tion  that  at  some  time  or  other  the  fire  should  get 
the  mastery  over  men,  and  the  whole  world  be 
burned  by  it,  and  they  thought  that  they  would  care 
fully  guard  it  from  getting  scattered  about  by  care 
less  people  who  might  set  the  world  on  fire." 

"Well,  go  on,  Kinnesasis,  and  tell  us  the  rest  of 
the  story,"  said  the  impatient  Sagastao. 

"So  when  the  Indian  council  heard  this  story 
they  sent  for  the  king  of  the  coyotes  and  told  him 
of  their  wish  that  he  should  return  to  that  under 
world  and  bring  up  the  fire  for  their  use. 

"To  their  surprise  and  great  delight  the  coyote 
said  he  would  go,  and  he  immediately  began  his 
preparations  for  the  journey.  So  greatly  had  the 
cold  increased  that  he  found  the  dark  mouth  of  the 
entrance  under  the  mountains  almost  surrounded 
by  snow  and  ice.  After  traveling  for  some  time  in 
the  darkness  he  reached  the  outer  wall,  where  he 
waited,  a  little  distance  from  the  door,  until  the 

102 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

snake  was  taking  his  usual  sleep.  Then  he  quickly 
stepped  past  him.  Knowing  the  habits  of  the  other 
animals,  he  waited  until  they  were  asleep  and  then 
he  noiselessly  passed  them  all.  Even  Sistinakoo  him 
self  was  sound  asleep.  So  the  coyote  crept  silently 
up  to  the  fire  and  lighted  the  large  brand  or  torch 
that  was  securely  fastened  to  his  tail.  The  instant 
it  began  to  blaze  up,  as  the  coyote  rushed  out  through 
the  first  door,  Sistinakoo  shouted,  'Who  is  there? 
Some  one  has  been  here  and  has  stolen  the  fire !' 

"He  at  once  began  to  make  a  great  row  and  loudly 
called  to  the  different  keepers  to  close  the  doors  in 
the  walls.  But  the  coyote  was  too  quick  for  them 
all,  and  ere  the  sleepers  were  wide  enough  awake  to 
do  anything  he  had  passed  through  all  the  doors  and 
was  far  on  his  way  to  the  top  of  the  ground.  The 
fire  was  gladly  received  by  the  people,  but  after  some 
time,  when  some  big  prairies  and  forests  had  been 
burned  up  by  it,  the  men  got  fearful  that  the  world 
might  be  destroyed  and  so  they  intrusted  it  to  the 
care  of  the  old  magician  and  his  two  daughters,  with 
orders  to  be  very  careful  to  whom  they  gave  any.  It 
was  from  them  Nanahboozhoo  stole  it,  to  scatter 
it  once  more  freely  among  the  people  as  we  now 
have  it. 

"But  the  tradition  was  still  believed  in  the  days 
of  my  grandfather  that,  good  as  the  fire  was  to 
warm  us,  and  cook  our  food,  it  would  yet  become 
our  master,  and  do  the  world  much  harm." 

Kinnesasis  was  thanked  by  all  for  his  recital  of 
this  suggestive  legend,  especially  by  his  older  listen- 

103 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

ers,  who  saw  much  in  it  that  was  in  harmony  with 
the  earlier  beliefs  of  other  nationalities. 

By  this  time,  however,  the  dogs  in  their  trains 
were  impatiently  barking,  and  longing  to  get  back 
home  for  their  suppers.  So,  after  farewell  greetings 
to  Kinnesasis  and  his  wife,  one  cariole  after  another 
was  loaded,  and  away  the  happy  ones  sped  over  the 
icy  expanse  of  the  frozen  lake. 


104 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 


CHAPTER   X. 

The  Christmas  Packet—The  Distribution  of  Gifts— A  Visit 
by  Dog  Train,  at  Fifty-five  Below  Zero 
— Souwanas  Tells  How  the  Indians  first 
Learned  to  Make  Maple  Sugar. 

OW  great  the  excitement  was  which 
attended  the  arrival  of  the  Christ 
mas  packet  can  hardly  be  realized  by 
persons  who  have  never  been  exposed 
to  the  privations  of  a  land  which  the 
mail  reaches  every  six  months,  and  where 
they  wait  half  a  year  for  the  daily  paper. 
After  this  long  waiting  it  is  no  wonder  that 
a  great  shout  was  raised  when  far  away  in 
the  distance  the  long-expected,  heavily-loaded  dog- 
trains  were  seen  that  for  several  hundred  miles 
had  carried  the  precious  messages  of  love  and  the 
tokens  of  good  will  from  dear  ones  far  away. 

This  year  an  extra  train  well  loaded  with  much- 
needed  supplies  for  the  mission  was  among  the  arri 
vals.  Its  coming  was  hailed  with  special  delight  by 
the  children;  for  even  in  that  Northland  Santa 
Claus  was  not  unexpected,  and  it  was  surmised  by 
some  of  the  wee  ones  that  possibly  some  of  his  gifts 
would  arrive  about  that  time. 

And  they  were  not  disappointed,  for  loved  ones 
far  away  in  more  favored  lands  had  remembered 
these  little  ones  in  their  Northern  home,  where  the 

105 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

Frost  King  reigns,  and  many  and  varied  were  the 
gifts  which  they  now  received. 

"I  am  going  to  take  Souwanas  some  of  my  can 
dies,"  said  Sagastao. 

"And  I  am  going  to  give  him  a  nice  red  silk  hand 
kerchief,"  said  Minnehaha. 

The  children  had  by  this  time  pretty  well  learned 
his  weakness  for  these  things,  and  it  was  a  pleasure 
now  for  them  to  think  that  they  had  it  in  their  power 
to  make  him  happy. 

The  next  morning  was,  as  usual,  bright  and  cloud 
less,  but  it  was  bitterly  cold.  The  mercury  was 
frozen  in  one  thermometer,  and  in  the  other  one 
the  spirit  indicated  fifty-five  below  zero.  Yet  so 
impatient  were  these  spirited  children  to  be  off  with 
their  gifts  to  Souwanas,  and  with  something  also 
for  each  member  of  the  family,  that  their  pleadings 
prevailed.  A  cariole  with  plenty  of  fur  robes  was 
soon  at  the  door,  and  with  old  Kennedy  as  their 
driver  they  were  soon  speeding  away  behind  a  train 
of  dogs. 

Indians  are  naturally  alert  and  watchful,  and  so 
the  merry  jingle  of  the  silvery  bells  was  heard  while 
the  cariole  was  still  at  some  distance  on  the  trail. 
Cordially  were  they  welcomed,  and  strong  arms 
speedily  carried  them  into  the  cosy  wigwam  where, 
in  the  center,  burned  a  great  fire  of  dry  spruce  and 
birch  wood. 

As  the  cold  was  so  intense,  and  the  children  had 
permission  to  remain  for  two  hours,  it  was  decided 
that  Kennedy  should  return  home  at  onee  with  the 

106 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

dogs,  as  it  would  have  been  cruel  to  have  kept  them 
out  in  the  cold  so  long. 

The  heavy  wraps  were  soon  removed  and  the  chil 
dren  were  comfortably  seated  on  the  fur  rugs  pro 
vided  for  them.  Then  they  very  proudly  opened 
their  parcels  and  distributed  the  contents — their 
own  gifts  as  well  as  those  which  had  been  sent  to 
Souwanas  and  his  family  from  the  mission.  Minne- 
haha  reserved  her  special  gift  for  the  last.  When 
all  of  her  others  had  been  bestowed  she  unfolded  the 
beautiful  red  silk  handkerchief  and,  going  over  to 
Souwanas,  she  did  her  best  to  tie  it  nicely  around 
his  neck. 

The  old  man,  genuine  Indian  that  he  was,  was 
much  moved  by  her  winsome  ways  and  handsome 
gift. 

He  said  but  little,  but  there  was  a  soft,  kindly 
look  in  his  eyes  that  showed  his  gratitude  more  than 
any  words  could  have  done.  It  meant  a  good  deal 
more  than  perhaps  he  would  like  to  admit  and  those 
who  saw  it  were  thankful  that  they  had  observed  it, 
knowing  that  it  meant  so  much.  Sagastao,  who  had 
already  given  him  several  presents,  had  held  on  to 
his  box  of  candies.  He  had  learned  that  for  such 
things  the  old  man  could  be  coaxed  to  do  almost 
anything,  and  now  he  held  them  out,  and  said : 

"Now,  Souwanas,  as  all  the  presents  have  been 
passed  around,  I  have  got  some  fine  sweeties  for 
you,  but  we  must  have  a  first-class  Nanahboozhoo 
story  for  them." 

"O  yes!"  said  Minnehaha.  "And  as  it  is  to  be 
107 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

for  sweeties  let  us  have  a  nice  sweet  story  of  Nanah- 
boozhoo  this  time." 

"A  sweet  story  you  want?  Well,  before  I  begin 
let  us  fix  up  the  fire  and  all  get  comfortably  seated 
around  it." 

Then,  as  they  usually  did,  the  two  white  children 
cuddled  as  close  to  the  inimitable  story-teller  as  they 
could.  Little  cared  they  for  the  cold  without  or  even 
for  the  occasional  puffs  of  smoke  which  seemed  at 
times  to  prefer  to  enter  the  eyes  of  the  listeners 
rather  than  to  go  out  at  the  orifice  at  the  top  of  the 
wigwam. 

"A  sweet  story,"  musingly  said  the  old  man,  "in 
this  land  of  fish,  and  bears,  and  wolves,  and  wild 
cats,  and  wolverines !"  Then  he  paused  long  enough 
to  fill  his  mouth  again  with  the  candies  which  he 
enjoyed  so  much. 

"A  sweet  story.  Then  it  must  be  of  a  land,  south 
of  this,  where  for  some  years  I  dwelt,  many,  many 
moons  ago.  A  land  where  the  Se-se-pask-wut-a-tik 
(sugar  maple  tree)  grows  and  flourishes  in  all  its 
beauty. 

"There,  in  those  wigwams,  long  ago  lived  the 
people  whom  we  call  the  Hurons,  the  Dakotahs  and 
the  Ojibways.  These  Ojibways  are  cousins  of  my 
own  people,  the  Saulteaux.  Well,  the  story  I  want 
to  tell  you  had  its  beginning  long,  long  ago.  One 
day  there  came  a  great  embassage  of  Indians  from 
the  far  South  with  words  of  peace  and  good  will. 
They  said  that  in  their  country  they  had  no  cold 
weather,  and  very  seldom  saw  any  snow.  They  said 

108 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

that  the  trees  were  different,  and  that  many  things 
grew  there  that  they  did  not  see  in  our  Northern 
country.  They  brought  with  them  many  presents 
and  were  kindly  received  by  our  people,  and  then, 
after  some  weeks  of  feasting  and  speech-making, 
they  returned  home  laden  with  the  best  gifts  our 
tribes  could  bestow. 

"Among  the  presents  which  these  Southern  In 
dians  brought  was  a  large  quantity  of  sugar.  This 
was  the  first  time  it  was  ever  seen  among  the  Indians 
of  the  North.  It  was  very  much  prized,  and  was 
very  carefully  divided  among  the  people  so  that  each 
one  had  a  small  quantity.  It  did  not  last  very  long, 
for  everybody  was  fond  of  it.  When  it  was  all  gone 
the  people  were  sorry,  and  the  question  was  asked, 
'Why  cannot  we  send  a  company  of  our  own  people 
and  get  more  of  it?' 

"This  suggestion  met  with  the  favor  of  the  tribes, 
and  a  large  party  of  the  best  runners  was  selected, 
and  being  well  supplied  with  rich  presents  and  pipes 
of  peace  they  started  off  to  find  the  Southland  and 
to  obtain  abundance  of  the  sugar.  Some  weeks 
passed  by  before  word  was  heard  from  them,  and 
the  news  was  very  bad.  Fierce  wars  had  broken 
out  among  the  tribes  that  lived  between  ours  and 
those  who  dwelt  in  that  far  South.  Our  Indians 
had  to  fight  for  their  lives.  Many  of  them  were 
killed,  others  were  badly  wounded,  and  of  the  large 
company  that  started  out  not  more  than  half  ever 
returned  to  their  homes.  The  expedition  was  a 
complete  failure. 

109 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

" Still  there  was  the  memory  of  the  sugar  among 
them,  and  it  happened  that  one  day  in  the  council 
somebody  said: 

"  'Why  not  send  to  Nanahboozhoo  ?' 

"Good!"  shouted  Minnehaha;  "that  is  just  what  I 
thought  they  would  do." 

"Well,  hold  on,"  said  her  more  matter-of-fact 
brother;  "just  as  like  as  not  Nanahboozhoo  would 
give  them  salt  instead  of  sugar,  if  he  were  in  one 
of  his  tantrums." 

Souwanas  was  not  displeased  at  this  interruption 
on  the  part  of  the  children,  and  gladly  availed  him 
self  of  the  opportunity  thus  offered  to  once  more 
help  himself  to  the  sweets. 

Earnestly  appealing  to  Souwanas,  Minnehaha, 
who  always  looked  on  the  bright  side  of  things,  and 
who  had  a  quick  intuition  quite  beyond  her  years, 
said: 

"It  could  not  be  a  sweet  story  if  Nanahbooz 
hoo  gave  them  salt  instead  of  sugar;  could  it, 
Souwanas  ?" 

The  old  man,  as  soon  as  his  mouth  was  sufficiently 
emptied  to  resume  his  story,  amused  by  the  ear 
nestness  with  which  the  child  appealed  to  him, 
replied  with  the  words,  "Tapwa,  tapwa!"  (Verily, 
verily!) 

Sagastao,  however,  unwilling  to  give  in,  retorted, 
"O  'tapwa,  tapwa'  doesn't  mean  anything,  anyway." 

Souwanas  only  laughed  at  this  criticism,  and  pro 
ceeded  with  his  story. 

"So  it  was  decided  to  send  a  deputation  to  Nanah- 

IIO 


THE 

OF 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

boozhoo  to  tell  him  of  the  wish  of  the  tribes  to  have 
Se-se-pask-wut  (sugar),  as  had  the  tribes  of  the 
Southland. 

"The  deputation  who  started  off  to  find  Nanah- 
boozhoo  had  a  great  deal  of  difficulty  in  finding  him. 
It  seems  that  a  great  strife  had  arisen  between  Na- 
nahboozhoo  and  some  of  the  underground  Muche 
Munedoos — bad  spirits,  sometimes  called  the  Ana- 
mak-quin — who  had  determined  to  kill  Nokomis, 
the  grandmother  of  Nanahboozhoo,  because  of  their 
spiteful  hatred  of  Nanahboozhoo,  whom  they  knew 
they  could  not  kill  because  he  had  supernatural 
powers. 

"Nanahboozhoo  had,  as  usual,  been  playing  some 
of  his  pranks  on  them,  and  that  was  why  they  were 
determined  to  kill  Nokomis." 

"What  were  some  of  the  tricks  that  Nanahbooz 
hoo  had  been  up  to  this  time?"  asked  Sagastao. 

"It  would  take  me  too  long  to  tell  you  now," 
replied  Souwanas. 

"Nanahboozhoo  dearly  loved  his  grandmother, 
although  he  was  often  giving  her  great  frights,  just 
as  other  grandsons  sometimes  do.  So  when  he 
heard  of  what  the  Muche  Munedoos  were  threaten 
ing  he  took  up  his  grandmother  on  his  strong  back 
and  carried  her  far  away  and  made  for  her  a  tent 
of  maples  in  a  great  forest  among  the  mountains. 
The  only  access  to  it  was  across  a  single  log  at  a 
dizzy  height  over  a  wild  rushing  river. 

"It  was  now  in  the  fall  of  the  year,  and  the  leaves 
of  these  trees  were  all  crimson  and  yellow,  so  bril- 

iii 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

liant  that  when  seen  from  a  long  distance  they  looked 
like  a  great  fire.  Thus  it  happened  that  when  the 
bad  spirits  following  after  Nanahboozhoo  and  No- 
komis  saw  the  brilliant  colors  through  the  haze  of 
that  Indian  Summer  day  they  thought  the  whole 
country  was  on  fire,  and  they  turned  back  and 
troubled  them  no  more.  Nanahboozhoo  was  pleased 
that  the  beautiful  maple  trees  had  been  of  so  much 
assistance  to  him.  He  decided  to  dwell  among 
them  for  some  time,  so  he  prepared  a  very  com 
fortable  wigwam  for  himself  and  his  grandmother. 

"It  was  in  the  wigwam  among  the  maples  that 
the  deputation  found  Nanahboozhoo.  He  received 
them  kindly,  and  listened  to  their  story  and  their 
request. 

"At  first  Nanahboozhoo  was  perplexed.  He  was 
such  a  great  traveler  that  he  had  often  been  down 
in  the  great  Southland,  and  well  knew  how  the 
sugar  was  there  made.  He  had  seen  the  fields  of 
sugar  cane,  and  knew  the  whole  process  by  which 
the  juice  was  squeezed  out  and  then  boiled  down 
into  sugar.  He  also  knew  that  it  required  a  lot  of 
hard  work  before  the  sugar  was  made. 

"When  Nokomis  heard  the  request  of  the  deputa 
tion  to  her  grandson  she  was  very  much  interested — 
for  had  not  Nanahboozhoo  several  times,  when  re 
turning  from  those  trips  to  the  South,  brought  back 
to  her  some  of  the  sugar? — and  she  had  liked  it 
very  much ;  and  so  now  she  added  her  pleadings  to 
theirs  that  he  would  in  some  way  grant  them  their 
request. 

112 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

"Of  course  Nanahboozhoo  could  not  refuse  now, 
so  he  told  them  that,  as  the  beautiful  maple  trees  had 
been  so  good  to  him  and  Nokomis,  from  this  time 
forward  they  should,  like  the  sugar  cane  of  the 
South,  yield  the  sweet  sap  that  when  boiled  down 
would  make  the  sugar  they  liked  so  much. 

"He  told  them,  however,  that  it  was  not  for  the 
lazy  ones  to  have,  but  only  for  those  who  were  in 
dustrious  and  would  carry  out  his  commands.  Then 
Nanahboozhoo  described  to  them  the  whole  process 
of  sugar  making.  He  told  them  that  only  in  the 
spring  of  the  year  would  the  sweet  sap  flow.  Then 
they  were  to  have  ready  their  tapping  gouges,  their 
spiles  and  buckets.  Great  fireplaces  were  to  be  built 
and  here,  as  fast  as  the  sap  was  gathered  from  the 
trees,  it  was  to  be  boiled  down  in  their  little  kettles 
into  the  nice  molasses;  and  then  a  little  more,  so 
that  when  it  cooled  it  would  harden  into  sugar. 

"  'Now/  added  Nanahboozhoo,  'go  back  to  your 
people  and  tell  them  that  it  depends  on  their  industry 
between  now  and  the  spring  who  shall  have  the  most 
of  the  sugar  you  love  so  well/  Then  he  skillfully 
modeled  out  a  stone  tapping  gouge  of  the  shape  re 
quired  to  make  the  incision  in  the  tree  from  which 
the  sap  would  flow.  With  his  knife  he  made  a 
sample  spile  of  cedar,  the  thin  end  of  which  was  to 
be  driven  into  the  hole  made  by  the  gouge  and  along 
which  the  sap  would  flow.  Then  he  told  them  to 
make  plenty  of  buckets  of  birch  bark,  and  thus  be 
ready  when  the  time  came  to  secure  an  abundant 
supply  of  sap.  Thus  the  art  of  making  maple  sugar 

"3 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

first  came  to  be  known.  Nanahboozhoo  gave  it  to 
the  Indians  long  ago.  Then  when  the  palefaces 
came  they  followed  the  same  process.  That  is  the 
way  Nanahboozhoo  showed  us  how  to  get  the  maple 
sugar." 

But  here  the  sound  of  the  barking  of  the  dogs, 
and  the  sweet  tones  of  the  silvery  bells  on  the  col 
lars  of  the  dogs  that  had  come  for  the  children,  told 
that  the  two  hours  had  passed  away. 

'Thank  you  ever  so  much,"  said  the  grateful 
Minnehaha,  as  she  rose  to  have  loving  hands  care 
fully  wrap  her  up  for  the  return  ride,  "for  that 
sweet,  sweet  story.  It  was  so  good  of  Nanahbooz 
hoo  to  tell  them  about  the  sap  in  the  maple  trees, 
even  if  it  is  only  there  in  the  spring  time." 

"I  think  old  Nokomis  deserves  a  good  deal  of  the 
credit,"  said  Sagastao.  "It  seems  to  me  that  Nanah 
boozhoo  would  not  have  done  it  if  she  had  not  made 
him." 

"Well,  Nanahboozhoo  did  it,  anyway,  and  so  we 
and  the  Indians  have  our  maple  sugar  and  molasses, 
and  I  am  glad.  And  so,  hurrah  for  Nanahboozhoo !" 
Thus  replied  Minnehaha. 

Here  Souwanas  lifted  the  well-wrapped-up  child, 
and  carried  her  out  to  the  cariole,  where  she  and  her 
brother  were  speedily  covered  and  tucked  in  among 
the  warm  robes. 

"Marche !  Marche !"  was  shouted  to  the  dogs  by 
the  driver,  and  away  they  sped  over  the  icy  trail 
with  such  speed  that  it  was  not  long  ere  they  were 
again  safe  and  happy  in  their  own  cozy  home. 

114 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 


CHAPTER   XL 

Mary  Relates  the  Legend  of  the  Origin  of  Disease—The 
Queer  Councils  Held  by  the  Animals 
Against  Their  Common  Enemy,  Man. 

ARY,  how  is  it  that  I  get  sick  some 
times,"  said  Sagastao  the  following 
summer,  "and  have  to  take  medicine 
that  I  dislike?  Why  can't  we  always 
be  well?" 

For  the  last  week  or  ten  days  Mary  had 
been  most  devoted  and  faithful  in  watch 
ful  care  over  her  restless  charge,  who  had 
been  very  sick  but  was  now  rapidly 
recovering. 

"As  soon  as  you  are  a  little  stronger 
I  will  tell  you  the  legends  of  sickness  and 
medicine,  as  handed  down  by  our  Indian  fore 
fathers,"  said  Mary,  "but  now  you  must  only 
rest,  and  eat,  and  sleep." 

"Well,  Sakehow"  (beloved),  his  pet  name  for 
his  faithful  nurse,  "I  will  try  and  mind  you;  don't 
forget." 

The  next  week  was  one  of  rapid  recovery,  and 
very  proud,  indeed,  was  Mary  when  she  led  forth 
the  two  children,  in  the  bright  sunshine  of  a  de 
lightful  summer  day,  to  a  cozy  resting  place  among 
the  rocks  where  the  waves  of  Lake  Winnipeg  rippled 
on  the  sandy  beach  at  their  feet. 

115 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

Minnehaha  was  eager  for  a  story  about  the  sweet 
birdies  or  the  brilliant  flowers,  but  the  young  invalid 
had  his  way  this  time,  and  Mary  proceeded  to  tell 
the  story  of  the  Indians'  idea  as  to  the  origin  of 
sickness  and  disease. 

"Long,  long  ago,"  said  Mary,  "all  the  animals 
and  birds  on  this  earth  lived  in  peace  and  harmony 
with  the  human  family.  Then  there  was  food  for 
all  in  abundance  without  any  shedding  of  blood. 
Even  the  wild  animals,  that  now  live  by  killing  and 
devouring  each  other,  found  plenty  of  food  in  the 
fruits  and  vegetables  that  then  were  so  abundant. 

"Men  and  women  also  lived  on  similar  things, 
and  were  contented  and  happy.  But  as  the  years 
went  on  the  people  became  so  numerous,  and  their 
settlements  spread  over  so  much  of  the  earth,  that 
many  of  the  poor  animals  began  to  be  cramped  for 
room. 

"Even  this  could  have  been  borne,  but  by  and  by 
men  began  to  make  bows  and  arrows,  spears  and 
knives,  and  other  weapons,  and  began  to  use  them 
on  the  defenseless  animals.  Then  soon  they  began 
to  eat  the  flesh  of  the  animals,  and  presently  they 
found  that  they  preferred  the  meat  thus  obtained  to 
the  fruits  and  vegetables  of  the  earth. 

"Formerly  they  had  made  their  garments  out  of 
the  fiber  of  the  trees  and  plants,  which  the  women 
carefully  prepared  and  wove ;  but  after  a  while  they 
discovered  that  the  skins  of  the  buffalo  and  deer 
and  other  animals,  when  well  prepared,  made  better 
and  more  durable  garments  and  wigwams  than  the 

116 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

materials  they  had  previously  used.  As  time  went 
on  the  destruction  of  the  larger  animals  increased, 
and  men  became  so  much  more  cruel  than  formerly 
that  even  the  frogs  and  worms,  that  in  the  earlier 
days  were  never  harmed,  were  now  destroyed  with 
out  mercy,  or  by  sheer  carelessness  or  contempt. 
Thus  the  animals  came  to  be  in  such  a  sad  plight 
that  it  was  resolved  by  them  to  call  great  councils 
of  their  members  together  to  consult  upon  what 
could  be  done  for  their  common  safety. 

"The  bears  were  the  first  to  assemble.  They 
gathered  together  on  the  peak  of  a  great  smoky 
mountain,  which  the  white  men  now  call  Cathedral 
mountain,  and  the  great  white  bear  from  the  North 
land  was  appointed  chairman." 

"Well,  that  was  funny,"  said  Minnehaha.  "Just 
fancy  a  big  white  bear  sitting  up  in  a  chair!  Why, 
he  would  need  a  whole  sofa  to  hold  him." 

"Don't  be  silly,  child,"  said  the  patronizing 
brother.  "It  was  a  bears'  council  and,  of  course, 
the  chairs  used  were  bears'  and  not  men's." 

When  Mary  was  appealed  to  to  settle  the  ques 
tion  she  could  only  say,  "As  the  council  was  held 
on  the  top  of  a  mountain  perhaps  the  bears  sat  on 
the  rocks.  But  never  mind;  let  me  go  on  with  the 
story. 

"After  the  white  bear  had  made  his  speech  he 
took  his  seat  and  said  he  was  now  ready  to  hear  the 
statements  of  the  different  bears  who  had  assembled 
to  lodge  their  complaints  against  the  way  in  which 
men  killed  their  relatives,  devoured  their  flesh  for 

117 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

food,  and  made  garments  and  robes  out  of  their 
skins. 

"Nearly  every  kind  of  bear  had  grievous  state 
ments  to  make,  and  so  blood-curdling  were  some  of 
their  recitals  that  it  was  decided  to  begin  war  at  once 
against  the  human  race. 

"Then  the  question  was  asked,  'What  weapons 
shall  we  use  against  them  ?'  After  some  discussion 
it  was  decided  to  use  bows  and  arrows,  the  favorite 
weapons  of  their  enemies. 

"'And  what  are  they  made  of?'  was  the  next 
question. 

"This  was  soon  answered  by  a  bear  who  had  been 
caught  when  young  and  kept  captive  for  a  couple 
of  years  in  the  wigwam  of  one  of  their  enemies.  He 
had  often  seen  the  process  of  making  bows,  and  he 
was  now  able  to  tell  all  about  it,  and  even  to  do  the 
work  himself.  It  was  not  long  before  the  first  bow, 
with  some  arrows,  was  manufactured,  and  there  was 
great  excitement  when  the  first  trial  of  it  was  made. 
A  large  strong  bear  was  selected  to  shoot  the  first 
arrow.  To  their  great  disappointment  the  trial  was 
not  a  success,  for  it  was  found  that  when  the  bear 
let  the  arrow  fly,  after  drawing  back  the  bow,  his 
long  claws  caught  in  the  string  and  spoiled  the  shot. 
Other  bears  tried,  but  they  all  had  long  claws, 
and  they  all  failed.  Then  some  one  suggested  that 
this  difficulty  could  be  overcome  by  their  cutting  off 
their  long  claws.  But  here  the  chairman,  the  white 
bear,  interposed,  saying  that  it  was  very  necessary 
that  they  should  have  their  long  claws  in  order  to 

118 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

climb  trees,  or  up  steep  rocky  places.  It  is  better/ 
said  he,  'for  us  to  trust  to  our  claws  and  teeth  than 
to  man's  weapons,  which  certainly  were  not  de 
signed  for  us.' 

'The  bears  remained  in  council  until  they  got  very 
hungry,  but  think  as  much  as  they  might  they  could 
not  devise  any  satisfactory  plan,  for  they  are  stupid 
animals  after  all,  and  they  dispersed  to  their  differ 
ent  homes  no  better  able  to  fight  the  human  race 
than  before, 

'Then  the  deer  next  held  a  council.  Representa 
tives  of  all  the  different  kinds  of  deer,  from  the  great 
elk  and  moose  down  to  the  smallest  species  in  ex 
istence,  assembled  in  a  beautiful  forest  glade.  The 
moose  was  selected  as  chief.  After  a  long  discus 
sion  it  was  resolved  that  in  revenge  for  man's 
tyranny  they  would  inflict  rheumatism,  lumbago, 
and  similar  diseases  upon  every  hunter  who  should 
kill  one  of  their  number  unless  he  took  great  care  to 
ask  pardon  for  the  offense.  That  is  the  reason  why 
so  many  hunters  say,  just  before  they  shoot,  'I  beg 
your  pardon,  Mr.  Deer,  but  shoot  you  I  must,  for 
I  want  your  flesh  for  food.'  They  know  that  if  they 
do  this  they  are  safe. 

"The  Cree  legend  is  that  it  is  the  bear  that  has  to 
be  propitiated  by  gentlemanly  expressions  when  he 
is  being  approached  to  be  killed.  I  well  remember 
being  with  a  couple  of  hunters  closely  following  up 
a  bear,  and  just  before  they  fired  they  kept  saying, 
'Excuse  us  for  shooting  you,  Brother  Bear,  but  we 
must  do  it.  We  want  your  warm  fur  robe,  our 

119 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

families  want  your  meat,  our  girls  want  your  grease 
to  put  on  their  heads,  so  you  must  excuse  us,  Brother 
Bear.  Please  do,  Brother  Bear;  please  do.'  Thus 
they  went  on  at  a  great  rate  until  he  was  killed. 

"But  many  forget  it,  and  the  spirit  of  their  chief 
knows  it  and  is  angry,  and  he  strikes  those  hunters, 
or  their  relatives,  down  with  rheumatism  or  some 
other  painful  disease. 

"Next  the  fishes  and  snakes  and  other  reptiles 
held  their  council,  and  they  decided  that  as  the  hu 
man  race  had  now  become  such  enemies  to  them 
they  would  trouble  them  with  'fearful  dreams'  of 
snakes  twining  about  them,  and  blowing  their  pois 
onous  breath  in  their  faces,  by  which  they  would 
lose  their  appetites  and  die,  while  others  of  them 
would  seek  opportunity  to  make  the  water  they 
drank,  or  even  the  air  they  breathed,  unwholesome. 
The  poisonous  ones  were  also  directed  to  use  every 
opportunity  to  kill  with  their  deadly  bites  whenever 
possible. 

"The  birds  also  held  a  council,  over  which  the 
crow  was  appointed  chairman.  The  eagle  objected, 
and  wanted  the  place,  but  he  was  voted  down  be 
cause  there  were  so  few  of  his  kind,  and  these  were 
only  hunted  for  their  feathers  to  adorn  the  war  bon 
nets  of  the  great  chiefs  and  warriors.  The  crow 
was  appointed  because  he  was  always  with  the  hu 
man  race  and  knew  the  various  schemes  and  tricks 
they  were  inventing  to  injure  the  birds  and  animals 
of  various  kinds.  After  much  deliberation  the  birds 
decided  to  give  colds,  and  coughs,  and  throat  dis- 

120 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

eases,  and  consumption,  to  the  human  race,  and  to 
thus  lessen  their  numbers  that  there  might  be  room 
for  all  creatures. 

"The  insects  and  smaller  animals  then  held  their 
council,  and  the  grubworm  was  appointed  to  preside 
over  the  gathering.  He  was  so  elated  over  his  elec 
tion,  and  that  they  had  arranged  a  scheme  which 
should  be  fatal  especially  to  women,  that  he  fell 
over  backward  and  could  not  get  on  his  feet  again. 
So  from  that  time  the  grubworm  has  only  been  able 
to  wiggle  in  that  way.  There  was  any  amount  of 
talking  and  buzzing  among  the  crowd.  The  frog 
was  especially  noisy  and  angry  in  his  remarks. 

"  It  is  high  time/  said  he,  'that  we  began  to  do 
something  against  this  cruel  human  race,  or  we  will 
soon  be  swept  off  the  earth.  See  how  my  back  is 
ugly  with  lumps  and  sores  because  men  have  so 
kicked  and  knocked  me  about !' 

' 'Others  followed  in  the  same  strain  of  indignant 
protest  against  man's  cruelty.  Even  the  flies  and 
mosquitoes  had  something  to  complain  of. 

"Well,  after  the  buzzing,  and  the  croakings,  and 
the  hummings  and  angry  talkings  were  over,  they 
settled  down  to  business. 

"Some  were  appointed  to  poison  the  waters  so 
that  malarias  and  fevers  should  attack  the  now 
hated  race.  Others,  such  as  the  flies  and  mosquitoes, 
were  to  carry  in  their  bites  and  stings  many  diseases. 
Thus  it  has  come  to  pass  that  there  is  more  damage 
done  to  the  hated  human  beings  by  these  bites  and 
stings  than  the  mere  smarting  pain  caused  at  the 

121 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

time  of  the  bite.  Thus,  because  the  human  race 
changed  from  being  all  kindness  to  the  rest  of  the 
creatures,  both  great  and  small,  into  being  cruel  and 
savage,  all  these  various  creatures  have  combined 
to  bring  dreadful  diseases  among  men  in  revenge 
for  their  own  wrongs/' 

'That  is  too  bad,"  said  Minnehaha.  "Why  could 
they  not  have  kept  on  loving  each  other  all  the  time, 
instead  of  things  being  as  they  are  now  ?" 

Sagastao,  who  had  laughed  at  the  idea  of  the  mos 
quitoes  coming  to  a  council,  and  of  their  having  any 
thing  to  complain  of,  said,  "I  would  like  to  know 
what  mosquitoes  lived  on  in  those  good  old  days 
you  speak  about.  Now  they  are  after  me  lively 
enough."  And  he  slowly  lifted  up  his  hand,  on  the 
back  of  which  a  couple  were  rapidly  filling  them 
selves  with  his  blood. 

But  Mary,  who,  Indian  like,  was  wise  and  ob 
servant,  only  said,  "Wait  a  minute  or  two  and  I  will 
show  you."  Then  she  quickly  hurried  back  into  a 
swampy  place  and  soon  returned  with  a  thick  juicy 
leaf,  to  the  under  side  of  which  several  mosquitoes 
were  still  clinging,  with  their  bodies  distended  with 
its  juice. 

"There,"  she  said,  as  she  carefully  held  the  leaf 
sideways,  "that  is  what  most  of  the  mosquitoes  still 
live  on.  They  attack  our  race  in  revenge  for  our 
being  so  cruel  as  to  kill  so  many  of  the  animals, 
large  and  small,  but  this,  as  you  can  easily  see,  is 
their  natural  food." 

This  appeal  to  the  eye  quite  silenced  the  children, 


22 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

who  had  considered  the  whole  story  as  only  an  In 
dian  legend  to  be  amused  with. 

Mary,  who  had  often  been  worsted  by  the  sharp 
criticisms  and  inquiries  with  which  they  were  apt 
to  receive  her  pet  Indian  legends,  was  quite  de 
lighted  at  her  apparent  triumph,  so  she  hastily 
sprang  up,  saying : 

"It  is  time  we  were  going  home.  Some  other  day 
I  will  tell  you  the  story  of  how  the  medicines  came." 


123 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 


CHAPTER   XII. 

The  Naming  of  the  Baby— A  Canoe  Trip— The  Legend  of 
the  Discovery  of  Medicine — How  the  Chipmunk  Carried  the 
Good  News. 


HERE  was  great  excitement  among 
a  number  of  Indian  men  and  women 
who  had  gathered  on  the  shore  in 
front  of  the  mission  one  pleasant 
summer  morning.  Grave  Indians, 
with  Souwanas  in  their  midst,  were 
calmly  discussing  some  object  of  in 
terest,  while  Mary  and  a  party  of  women,  some  of 
whom  had  their  babies  with  them,  were  much 
more  noisy,  talking  rapidly  about  something  which 
was  evidently  a  matter  of  exciting  interest.  Even 
Sagastao  and  Minnehaha  were  rushing  in  and  out 
of  the  house  and  running  from  one  group  of  Indians 
to  the  other,  full  of  eager  inquiries  and  pleasant 
anticipations.  What  could  it  all  be  about  ? 

Let  us  ask  the  children,  for  such  little  people  often 
know  more  than  we  are  likely  to  give  them  credit 
for.  Here  comes  Minnehaha,  and  we  ask  her  the 
cause  of  such  an  early  gathering  of  the  Indians,  and 
the  reason  why  they  are  so  unusually  interested  in 
some  matter  unknown  to  us. 

"Why,  don't  you  know?"  the  bright  little  girl 
promptly  replies.  "They  have  come  to  form  a 

124 


Their  babies  with  them.' 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

Naming  Council,  to  give  my  little  baby  sister  an 
Indian  name.  You  see,"  she  added,  "Sagastao  and 
I  were  born  among  the  Cree  Indians,  but  baby  was 
born  here  among  the  Saulteaux.  Just  think:  the 
first  little  white  baby  born  among  them !  And  they 
want  to  give  her  a  nice  Saulteaux  name.  The  rea 
son  why  they  are  talking  so  much  now,  before  they 
form  the  council,  is  that  lots  of  them  have  pet  names 
they  want  to  give  our  baby,  but  of  course  she  can 
only  have  one." 

"Yes,"  said  Sagastao,  "and  our  old  Mary  is  try 
ing  to  get  the  women  to  oppose  the  name  that  Sou- 
wanas  will  offer,  just  because  she  is  down  on  him. 
But  I'll  bet  he  will  beat  her  yet." 

"You  should  not  say,  I'll  bet/  Mother  has  often 
told  you  that  it  was  very  rude,"  reprovingly  said 
little  Minnehaha.  "You  never  learned  it  from 
father  or  mother.  You  must  have  picked  that  up 
from  some  rough  trader." 

"Well,  all  right,  I'll  not  say  it  again,  but  I'll  bet- 
no,  I  mean — hurrah!  for  Souwanas  and  his  side, 
anyway,"  and  off  he  ran. 

"Dear  me!"  said  the  little  sister.  "I  do  have  so 
much  trouble  with  that  boy !" 

Soon  the  council  assembled.  The  men  and  wom 
en  arranged  themselves  in  a  big  circle  and  spent 
some  time  in  drinking  some  strong,  well-sweetened 
tea  that  had  been  prepared  for  them.  They  had  been 
desirous  of  having  their  usual  pagan  ceremonies, 
but  of  course  this  could  not  be  allowed,  so  the  cere 
monies  of  tea  drinking  and  their  usual  smoking  were 

125 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

substituted.  Then  the  little  baby  was  brought  in 
by  her  nurse  and  handed  to  one  of  the  oldest  women. 
She  took  the  child,  and  after  kissing  her  and  utter 
ing  some  words  of  endearment  passed  her  on  to  the 
woman  on  her  left.  She  in  her  turn  kissed  her, 
uttered  some  kindly  words,  and  passed  her  on  to 
the  next.  So  baby  went  from  hand  to  hand  until 
she  had  made  the  complete  circle  of  women  and  men. 
This  was  the  ceremony  of  adopting  the  child  into 
the  tribe. 

Mary,  the  nurse  of  the  older  children,  was  ex 
cluded  from  this  circle  as  she  was  of  another  tribe. 
After  some  more  tea  had  been  drunk  the  child  was 
again  sent  on  her  rounds.  This  time  each  person, 
as  he  or  she  held  the  child,  pronounced  some  Indian 
name  that  he  or  she  wished  the  babe  to  be  called. 
Mary,  who  had  now  crowded  herself  into  the  circle, 
persisted  in  having  a  voice  in  the  matter.  She 
wanted  the  child  to  be  called  Papewpenases  (Laugh 
ing  Bird),  but  she  was  voted  down  by  the  crowd, 
who  said : 

"No,  that  is  Cree;   we  must  have  Saulteaux." 

With  a  certain  amount  of  decorum  each  name 
suggested  was  discussed,  only  to  be  rejected. 

For  a  time  there  was  quite  a  deadlock,  as  no  name 
could  be  decided  upon. 

"Now  that  you  have  all  spoken,"  said  Souwanas, 
"and  cannot  come  to  any  agreement,  I,  as  chief,  will 
make  the  final  decision.  This  is  the  first  white  child 
born  among  us,  as  Sagastao  and  Minnehaha,  whom 
we  all  love,  were  born  at  Norway  House,  among  the 

126 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

Crees.  Most  of  the  names  which  you  have  sug 
gested  have  some  reference  to  birds  and  their  sweet 
songs.  A  compound  name,  which  will  include  these 
ideas  and  mine,  Souwanas  (South  Wind),  can 
surely  be  found." 

This  suggestion  was  well  received,  as  Florence 
was  born  in  the  spring  of  the  year,  when  the  birds, 
returning  from  the  South,  filled  the  air  with  melody 
after  the  long  stillness  of  that  almost  Arctic  winter. 

So  busy  brains  and  wagging  tongues  were  at 
work,  and  the  result  was  the  formation  of  the  fol 
lowing  expressive  name,  which  was  quickly  be 
stowed  upon  the  child.  It  was  first  loudly  an 
nounced  by  Souwanas  himself:  Souwanaquenapeke; 
which  in  English  is,  'The  Voice  of  the  South  Wind 
Birds." 

At  once  all  the  Indians  took  it  up  and  uttered  it 
over  and  over  again,  so  that  it  would  not  be  forgot 
ten.  Even  Sagastao  and  Minnehaha,  who  could 
talk  as  well  in  the  Indian  language  as  in  English, 
took  up  the  word  and  shouted  out,  Souwanaquena 
peke,  until  they  had  it  as  thoroughly  as  their  own. 

Mary  alone  was  vexed,  and  so  annoyed  that  she 
could  not  conceal  her  disappointment.  This  was 
particularly  noticed  by  Sagastao,  and  as  soon  as 
Minnehaha  joined  them  they  slipped  quietly  away 
together.  Having  obtained  permission  they  took 
a  canoe  and  went  for  a  paddle  on  the  quiet  lake. 
Mary,  like  all  other  Indians,  was  passionately  fond 
of  the  water,  and  in  spite  of  her  crooked  back  was 
a  strong  and  skillful  paddler. 

127 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

The  children  were  placed  in  the  center  of  the 
canoe,  on  a  fur  rug,  while  Mary  seated  herself  in 
the  stern  and  paddled  them  over  the  beautiful  sunlit 
waves. 

For  a  time  but  little  was  heard,  for  the  children 
were  absorbed  in  the  scenes  of  rarest  beauty  or 
watched  some  fish,  principally  the  active  gold  eyes, 
sporting  in  the  water  around  them. 

After  a  while  the  children  began  to  clamor  for  a 
story,  but  Mary  would  not  speak  a  word.  Sagastao 
suspected  the  cause  of  Mary's  unusual  silence. 

"What  is  the  use,  sakehou,"  he  protested,  "of  your 
being  in  a  pet  because  baby  was  not  named  Papew- 
penases?  The  name  they  gave  her  pleased  every 
body  else;  you  must  be  pleased  too." 

"If  you  are  cross  and  won't  speak  to  us  we  will 
go  and  run  away  to  Souwanas;  won't  we?"  said 
Minnehaha. 

This  was  too  much  for  Mary,  and  she  quickly 
surrendered  and  made  an  excuse  about  thinking  of 
some  beautiful  story  to  tell  them  when  they  should 
land  on  that  little  rocky  island  just  ahead  of  them. 

"Very  well,"  said  Sagastao,  "let  us  have  the  one 
about  how  medicines  were  discovered  and  given  to 
the  Indians  to  cure  diseases." 

"Just  the  one  I  was  thinking  about,"  said  Mary; 
"and  while  we  rest  on  the  lovely  white  sand  I  will 
tell  you  the  story." 

A  few  vigorous  strokes  of  the  paddle  sent  the 
canoe  well  up  on  the  sandy  shore,  and  soon  they  all 
landed.  A  good  romp  relieved  them  of  the  stiffness 

128 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

caused  by  the  cramped  position  in  the  canoe.  Then 
as  they  cuddled  down  in  the  warm  sand  Mary  began 
her  story. 

"You  remember,  little  sweethearts,  how  the  ani 
mals  of  various  kinds  held  councils  and  decided  to 
be  revenged  on  the  human  family  for  their  cruelty 
by  sending  diseases  among  them.  Well,  these 
creatures  did  as  they  said  they  would  and  the  result 
was  that  lots  of  men  died,  and  also  the  women  and 
children,  that  did  the  creatures  no  harm,  were  get 
ting  different  kinds  of  sicknesses  and  many  of  them 
were  dying. 

"Were  there  no  diseases  among  them  before  these 
times?"  inquired  Minnehaha. 

"No;  not  what  you  might  call  diseases,"  replied 
Mary.  "The  people  lived  such  simple  lives  that, 
with  the  exception  of  accident,  such  as  being 
drowned  in  great  storms  or  killed  by  falling 
trees,  or  something  that  way,  nearly  all  the  people 
died  of  old  age." 

"Then  they  had  no  doctors  in  those  days?"  asked 
Sagastao. 

"No ;  there  were  no  medicine  men  in  those  times. 
Although  there  were  those  skillful  to  set  broken 
limbs  or  attend  to  any  who  happened  to  be  accident 
ally  wounded,  but  that  was  nearly  all.  Then  all  at 
once  these  diseases  sent  by  the  angry  animals  began 
to  appear  among  them,  and,  of  course,  there  was 
much  alarm.  The  people  did  not  know  what  had 
brought  them,  nor  how  to  get  rid  of  them.  Many 
people  were  sick  and  numbers  of  them  died. 

129 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

"You  see,  the  animals  held  their  councils  in  secret, 
and  away  from  the  presence  of  men,  and  so  it  would 
never  have  been  known  if  the  ground  squirrel,  called 
by  some  the  chipmunk,  had  not  gone  and  told  all 
about  the  councils  to  the  men.  He  had  always  been 
friendly  to  the  human  race.  He  had  attended  a 
number  of  the  councils  and  was  the  only  animal  that 
had  ventured  to  say  anything  in  the  favor  of  man. 
By  doing  this  he  so  enraged  the  other  animals  that 
some  of  them  fell  upon  him  with  great  fury,  and 
would  have  torn  him  in  pieces  if  he  had  not  been 
able  to  escape  into  his  hole  in  the  ground.  As  it 
was,  they  so  tore  and  wounded  him  with  their  teeth 
and  claws  that  the  stripes  remain  in  his  back  to 
this  day. 

"Well,  when  he  was  healed  enough  to  get  around 
again  he  visited  the  abodes  of  the  human  race  and 
was  very  sorry  to  find  that  the  diseases  sent  by  the 
other  angry  animals  were  causing  much  suffering 
and  many  deaths,  so  he  revealed  the  whole  thing  to 
a  number  of  men  and  told  them  to  be  on  their  guard. 
But  even  this  was  not  sufficient.  It  was  felt  that, 
now  that  these  diseases  were  spreading  among  them, 
they  must  have  some  remedies  for  the  cure  of  them 
or  they  would  all  soon  be  destroyed. 

"While  thus  wondering  what  they  should  do  their 
little  friend  the  ground  squirrel  came  to  their  help 
again.  He  went  about  among  the  trees  and  plants, 
who  were  always  friendly  to  man,  and  he  told  them 
of  the  sad  calamities  that  had  come  to  the  human 
race. 

130 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

"When  the  trees  and  plants  heard  what  had  been 
done  by  the  animals  to  injure  and  destroy  their 
friends  they  speedily  held  councils  among  them 
selves  and  resolved  that  they  would  do  all  they  could 
to  overcome  the  evil. 

"First  the  great  trees  held  their  councils,  talked 
over  the  matter,  and  decided  what  they  could  do  in 
the  way  of  furnishing  remedies  to  cure  these  dis 
eases  that  were  doing  so  much  injury.  The  pine 
and  the  spruce  and  the  balsam  trees  said,  'We  will 
give  of  our  gums  and  balsams.'  The  slippery  elm 
said  it  would  give  of  its  bark  to  make  the  soothing 
healing  drink.  The  sassafras  said  it  would  give  of 
its  roots  to  make  the  healthful  tea  that  will  bring 
back  health  again.  The  prickly  ash  and  the  sumach 
and  others  volunteered  their  help,  and  spoke  of  the 
wonderful  healing  power  there  was  in  them,  if 
rightly  used. 

"When  the  plants  came  to  their  council  the  num 
bers  that  wanted  to  help  were  very  great.  No  one 
was  able  to  keep  a  record  of  them  and  of  the  healing 
powers  they  professed  to  have.  There  was  the  man 
drake,  with  its  May  apples,  and  the  wintergreen, 
with  its  pretty  red  berries ;  the  catnip  and  the  bone- 
set,  which  are  so  good  for  colds ;  the  lobelia,  which 
is  such  a  quick  emetic;  the  spikenard,  the  pepper 
mint,  the  snakeroot,  sarsaparilla,  gentian,  wild 
ginger,  raspberry,  and  scores  of  others.  All  cheer 
fully  offered  assistance. 

"When  the  ground  squirrel,  who  had  for  days 
been  attending  the  council  of  the  trees  and  plants, 

131 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

had  made  out  his  list  of  what  remedies  each  tree  and 
plant  could  furnish  he  was  very  much  delighted,  and 
then,  thanking  them  for  their  offered  assistance,  he 
rapidly  returned  to  the  abodes  of  mankind  and  in 
formed  them  of  his  great  success. 

"Of  course  they  were  very  much  pleased,  and 
very  grateful  to  the  ground  squirrel  for  his  kindness 
and  his  interest  in  their  happiness.  This  is  the  rea 
son  why  the  chipmunk,  or  ground  squirrel,  lives 
near  the  homes  of  men.  You  never  see  an  Indian 
shoot  them  or  the  boys  or  girls  try  to  snare  them. 
They  are  always  welcome  among  the  trees  and  the 
wigwams.  The  Indians  love  them  because  they 
spoke  up  for  man  when  the  other  animals  turned 
against  him,  and  because  it  was  one  of  their  ances 
tors  that  made  the  trees  and  plants  reveal  their  good 
medicines  for  the  cure  of  the  sick." 

"Now  I  know  why  it  was,  when  I  was  out  with 
the  Indian  boys,  that  they  never  would  shoot  an 
arrow  at  a  chipmunk,  even  when  I  asked  them  to," 
said  Sagastao. 

"Yes,"  said  Mary,  "all  of  the  Indians  have  heard 
their  fathers  tell  of  the  kindness  of  the  old  father 
chipmunk  in  the  days  when  the  animals  knew  so 
much  and  could  talk,  and  so  they  warn  the  children 
against  injuring  these  pretty  little  creatures." 

But  it  was  now  time  they  were  returning.  The 
light  canoe  was  once  more  pushed  down  into  the 
lake,  and  soon  they  were  merrily  gliding  along  over 
the  clear,  transparent  waters  to  their  cozy  home. 


132 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

In  the  Wigwam  of  Souwanas — How  Gray  Wolf  Perse 
cuted  Waubenoo,  and  How  He  was  Punished  by 
Nanahboozhoo. 

E  have  come  to-day  for  a  nice 
story  about  Nanahboozhoo/' 
said  Minnehaha,  as  she  and  Sa- 
gastao  lifted  the  deerskin  door 
at  the  wigwam  of  Souwanas, 
and  entered  with  all  the  assur 
ance  of  children  who  knew  they 
were  welcome. 

"Did  he  ever  do  anything  to 
punish  bad  fellows  who  were 
cruel  to  their  wives  and  chil 
dren?"  asked  Sagastao.  ''Be 
cause,  if  he  did,  I  wish  he  would  come  and  thrash 
old  Wakoo,  that  bad  fellow  who  has  been  thrashing 
his  wife  again  because  he  said  she  did  not  snare 
enough  rabbits  to  suit  him." 

Souwanas,  who  was  one  of  the  kind-hearted  In 
dians,  never  cruel  to  any  of  his  family,  was  much 
amused  at  the  fire  and  indignation  with  which  the 
young  lad  spoke.     So  after  he  had  had  comfortable 
seats  arranged  for  the  children  among  the  robes  and 
blankets  he  endeavored  to  satisfy  their  demands. 
"Nanahboozhoo,"  he  said,  "did  such  things  long 
133 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

ago,  but  once,  when  he  was  giving  a  good  thrashing 
to  a  man  who  had  been  very  cruel  to  his  wife,  the 
wife,  as  soon  as  she  was  able,  sprang  up  from  the 
place  where  her  husband  had  knocked  her  to,  seized 
a  paddle  and  attacked  Nanahboozhoo  with  such  fury 
that  he  resolved  never  to  interfere  again,  if  he  could 
help  it,  in  a  quarrel  between  man  and  wife.  And," 
added  the  old  man,  with  a  merry  twinkle  in  his  eye, 
"it  is  best  for  everybody,  if  possible,  to  keep  out  of 
such  quarrels." 

"Yes,  but,  mismis"  (grandfather,  Minnehaha's 
pet  name  for  Souwanas),  "you  surely  know  a  nice 
story  in  which  Nanahboozhoo  helped  some  one  with 
out  getting  into  trouble  himself." 

"Of  course  I  do,  my  grandchild,"  said  the  old 
man,  "and  I  know  you  will  be  pleased  with  it. 

"My  story  is  about  a  lovely  Indian  maiden  who 
was  bothered  by  a  cruel  hunter.  He  was  determined 
that  she  should  marry  him,  although  she  did  not  like 
him,  and  Nanahboozhoo  came  to  her  rescue. 

"The  maiden's  name  was  Waubenoo.  She  had 
the  misfortune  to  lose  both  her  father  and  mother 
when  she  was  about  eighteen  years  old.  There  were 
four  children,  all  much  younger  than  she,  left  in  her 
sole  care.  They  had  no  uncles  or  aunts,  or  other 
relatives,  near,  to  take  care  of  them,  and  so  Waube 
noo  had  to  hunt  and  fish  to  get  food  for  her  little 
brothers  and  sisters.  Fortunately  her  father  had 
left  a  number  of  good  traps  and  nets,  and  plenty  of 
twine  for  snares,  and  so  the  industrious  girl  got  on 
fairly  well.  The  great  lake  near  her  wigwam  was 

134 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

well  supplied  with  fish,  and  the  forests  all  round  had 
in  them  many  rabbits  and  partridges  and  other  small 
game.  When  great  storms  arose  on  the  big  lake, 
and  Waubenoo  could  not  go  out  alone  in  her  birch 
bark  canoe  to  visit  her  nets,  some  of  the  Indians, 
who  were  pleased  to  see  how  kind  and  industrious 
she  was,  would  overhaul  her  nets  and  bring  in  what 
fish  were  caught.  Thus  she  toiled  on,  and  with  the 
assistance  of  these  kind  Indians  she  did  very  nicely. 
Her  little  brothers  and  sisters  loved  her  dearly,  and 
did  what  they  could  to  help  in  the  simpler  and  easier 
part  of  the  work.  Every  decent  person  among  the 
Indians  was  pleased  with  her  industrious  habits,  and 
often,  in  their  quiet  way,  had  some  cheery  words  of 
encouragement  for  her. 

"But  there  was  one  exception,  and  this  was  a 
selfish  Indian  hunter  who,  seeing  what  a  fine-look 
ing,  strong  woman  she  had  become,  and  so  clever 
in  her  work  with  both  nets  and  traps,  resolved  that 
she  should  be  his  wife,  to  work  for  him  and  do  his 
bidding.  This  man  had  been  married  before  and,  if 
the  reports  were  true  which  had  been  told,  it  was 
likely  that  his  wife  had  died  because  of  his  cruelties 
to  her.  So  he  resolved,  in  his  selfishness,  to  take 
Waubenoo  from  caring  for  her  brothers  and  sisters 
to  be  his  wife,  and  to  hunt  and  fish  for  him,  that  he 
might  live  a  life  of  idleness. 

"Her  parents  being  dead  this  selfish  young  Indian 
did  not  have  to  go  to  her  father  to  buy  her  to  be 
his  wife.  All  he  thought  he  had  to  do  was  to  go 
and  tell  her  she  had  to  be  his  wife  and  come  and  do 

135 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

as  he  commanded  her.  So  harsh  and  cold  were  his 
words,  and  so  very  rough  and  forbidding  his  looks, 
that,  while  Waubenoo  was  frightened,  she  was  grave 
and  high  spirited  enough  to  indignantly  refuse  his 
request,  and  to  order  him  never  to  trouble  her  again. 

"This,  of  course,  made  him  very  angry.  He  re 
fused  to  go,  and  continued  to  insist  on  her  going 
with  him. 

"Fearing  that  he  might  revenge  himself  upon  her 
by  doing  her  or  the  children  some  harm,  she  told  him 
that  it  was  her  duty  to  stay  with  the  little  ones  whom 
the  death  of  the  parents  had  left  in  her  care;  that 
they  might  perish  if  she  now  left  them. 

"But  nothing  would  turn  away  his  anger,  and  if 
it  had  not  happened  just  then  that  some  friendly 
Indians  came  along  he  would  have  cruelly  beaten 
her.  Before  them  he  durst  not  strike  her,  and  so, 
muttering  some  threats,  he  sulkily  strode  away  into 
the  forest. 

"Poor  Waubenoo  was  now  sadly  troubled. 
Lighthearted  and  free,  she  had  cheerfully  worked 
and  toiled  for  her  loved  ones,  but  now  here  comes 
this  cruel,  fierce-looking  man,  whom  she  could  only 
look  on  with  fear  and  dread,  and  threatens  to  drag 
her  away  from  them  all.  Gray  Wolf,  for  that  was 
his  name,  had  a  bad  reputation  among  the  Indians. 
The  young  men  shunned  him  and  the  maidens  took 
good  care  to  be  out  of  the  way  when  he  was  around. 
That  he  would  persist  in  his  attempts  to  get  Waube 
noo  all  were  convinced,  but  that  he  should  succeed 
no  one  desired.  Still,  while  Indian  ideas  on  some 

136 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

of  these  things  are  so  peculiar  that  no  one  seemed 
disposed  to  interfere,  at  the  same  time  some  of  them 
were  generally  on  the  lookout  for  her  protection. 
As  for  brave  Waubenoo,  while  certain  that  he  would 
still  trouble  her,  she  was  resolved  never  to  submit 
to  him. 

'Thus  the  weeks  rolled  on,  with  Gray  Wolf  look 
ing  for  some  opportunity  to  carry  her  off,  and 
making  several  attempts  to  do  so,  which  Waubenoo, 
ever  alert  and  watchful,  succeeded  in  preventing. 

"At  length  his  persistent  attempts  became  so  an 
noying  that  she  was  obliged  to  neglect  much  of  her 
work  in  order  to  keep  on  her  guard.  Food  was 
getting  scarce  because  she  dared  not  now  go  far 
from  her  wigwam  to  hunt  for  the  partridges  and 
rabbits  and  other  small  creatures  she  was  so  clever 
in  snaring. 

"At  length  she  resolved  to  go  to  Nanahboozhoo 
and  seek  his  aid  in  getting  rid  of  this  troublesome 
fellow.  When  Nanahboozhoo  heard  her  sad  story 
he  became  very  angry.  He  was  indignant  that  such 
a  commendable  maiden,  one  who  had  been  so  kind 
to  her  little  brothers  and  sisters,  should  be  bothered 
by  a  big,  selfish,  lazy  fellow  who  only  wanted  her 
because  she  was  so  industrious  and  so  clever  at  her 
work. 

"Nanahboozhoo  had  heard  much  about  her  kindly 
treatment  of  the  children,  and  of  her  skill  in  pro 
viding  for  their  wants,  so  he  lost  no  time  in  going 
back  with  her  to  her  wigwam.  At  first  the  younger 
children  were  much  afraid  of  him,  as  they,  like  all 

137 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

other  Indian  children,  had  heard  such  wonderful 
tales  about  him.  But  he  was  in  such  a  jolly  good 
humor  that  day,  and  was  so  delighted  with  every 
thing  he  saw  about  Waubenoo's  wigwam  and  with 
the  proofs  of  her  industry  that  he  soon  made  friends 
with  all  the  children.  How  to  go  to  work  to  give 
Gray  Wolf  such  a  lesson  that  he  would  never  trouble 
them  any  more  he  hardly  knew  at  first.  However, 
he  had  not  been  there  many  hours  before  he  had  to 
come  to  a  decision,  for  one  of  the  little  children  came 
rushing  into  the  wigwam  with  the  terrible  news  that 
Gray  Wolf,  carrying  a  big  dog  whip  and  looking 
very  angry,  was  coming  along  the  trail.  Nanah- 
boozhoo  only  laughed  when  he  heard  this,  and  he 
very  quickly  decided  what  to  do.  "Sit  down  there," 
he  said  to  Waubenoo,  "in  that  dark  side  of  the  wig 
wam,  with  a  blanket  over  your  head,  and  keep  per 
fectly  still  until  I  call  you ;  and  you,  children,  must 
keep  quiet.  Do  not  be  frightened  or  say  a  word,  no 
matter  what  happens." 

"Then  Nanahboozhoo,  who,  as  you  know,  could 
change  himself  into  any  form  he  liked,  suddenly 
transformed  himself  so  as  to  look  exactly  like  Wau 
benoo.  So  perfect  was  his  resemulance  to  her,  even 
to  his  dress,  that  her  brothers  and  sisters  could  not 
have  detected  the  disguise.  Indeed,  the  young  ones 
could  not  help  looking  over  to  the  spot  where  the 
real  Waubenoo  sat  in  the  gloom  with  the  blanket 
drawn  over  her  head.  But  they  were  Indian  children, 
early  trained  to  be  quiet  and  do  as  they  were  told, 
and  so  they  fully  obeyed  his  commands. 

138 


"Gave  him  such  a  terrible  beating." 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

"Of  course,  when  Gray  Wolf  came  into  the  wig 
wam  he  was  completely  deceived,  and  now,  thinking 
that  he  had  caught  Waubenoo  when  there  were  no 
friendly  Indians  around,  he  at  once  began  speaking 
very  fiercely  to  her: 

"  *I  have  asked  you  for  the  last  time/  he  said, 
'and  now  1  have  come  with  my  dog  whip  and  I  in 
tend  giving  you  a  good  thrashing  and  then  driving 
you  to  my  wigwam.  I  intend  to  call  you  Atim,  my 
dog,  and  like  a  dog  I  am  going  to  thrash  you/ 

"He  then  savagely  raised  the  whip  to  strike,  as  he 
thought  Waubenoo,  but  the  blow  never  reached  its 
victim,  or  even  Nanahboozhoo  in  his  disguise,  at 
whom  it  was  aimed,  for  Nanahboozhoo  was  so  en 
raged  that  anybody  in  the  shape  of  a  man  could  be 
so  cruel  and  selfish  as  to  come  and  threaten  a  kind 
young  woman  like  Waubenoo  that  he  suddenly 
sprang  at  Gray  Wolf,  and  seizing  him  by  his 
scalp  lock  he  dragged  him  out  of  the  wigwam,  and 
then  wrenching  the  heavy  whip  out  of  his  hand  gave 
him  such  a  terrible  beating  that  he  remembered  ife 
as  long  as  he  lived.  Then  roughly  throwing  him  to 
the  ground,  Nanahboozhoo,  still  in  the  disguise  of 
Waubenoo,  hurried  into  the  wigwam  and  said  to 
the  real  Waubenoo : 

"  'Now,  while  he  is  weak  and  cowed,  go  out  and 
talk  sternly  to  him,  and  tell  him  that  if  he  ever 
troubles  you  again  it  will  be  worse  for  him  than 
this  has  been/ 

"When  Waubenoo  came  out  her  appearance  so 
terrified  Gray  Wolf  that  he  tried  to  get  up  and  skulk 

139 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

away,  weak  as  he  was.  Waubenoo,  glad  that  her 
enemy  was  so  conquered  that  he  would  not  be  likely 
to  trouble  her  much  more,  did  as  Nanahboozhoo  re 
quested  her. 

"Nanahboozhoo  was  heartily  thanked  by  Wau 
benoo  and  the  children  for  thus  ridding  them  of  this 
bad  Indian,  who  had  for  so  long  made  their  lives 
miserable.  Ere  he  left  Nanahboozhoo  warned  the 
children  to  say  nothing  about  his  coming,  'for/ 
said  he,  'if  Gray  Wolf  finds  out  who  it  was  that 
thrashed  him  he  may  yet  be  troublesome/ 

"Well  would  it  have  been  for  all  if  the  children 
had  remembered  this  advice,"  added  Souwanas. 

"O  tell  us  what  they  did,  and  what  happened/' 
shouted  Sagastao. 

"Not  to-day,"  said  the  old  man;  "it  is  time  you 
both  were  back  at  your  lessons,  and  as  I  am  going 
that .  way  with  some  whitefish  I  will  take  you  with 
me  in  my  canoe." 

"But  is  that  all  about  the  story  of  Waubenoo  and 
the  children?"  said  Minnehaha. 

"Yes,"  said  Souwanas,  "until  we  come  to  the 
next.  For  a  long  time  after  Gray  Wolf  received  the 
beating  he  kept  away  from  them,  although  his  heart 
was  full  of  anger  and  revenge.  Although  he  was  a 
big  fellow  he  feared  to  again  threaten  her  who, 
although  she  seemed  but  an  ordinary-sized  Indian 
maiden,  possessed  the  strength  that  had  enabled  her 
to  give  him  such  a  thrashing/' 


140 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

The  Pathetic  Love  Story  of  Waubenoo— The 
Treachery  of  Gray  Wolf— The  Legend  of 
the  Whisky  Jack. 

T  came  about  in  this  way/'  said  Sou- 
wanas,  "and  it  is  such  a  sad  story 
about  beautiful  Waubenoo/' 

"Will  it  make  me  cry?"  said  the 
tender-hearted  Minnehaha.  "If  so,  I 
do  not  think  I  want  to  hear  it." 

"Stay  and  hear  it,  you  little  pussy," 
said  Sagastao.  "I  am  sure  it  is  not  worse  than 
the  Babes  in  the  Wood." 

"Well,  you  always  cry  first,  when  we  read  that 
story  together,"  said  Minnehaha. 

At  this  the  lad  had  nothing  to  say,  for  in  spite  of 
his  apparent  brusqueness  his  heart  melted  more 
quickly,  and  his  eyes  filled  easier  with  tears,  at  a 
pathetic  story,  than  did  his  sister's. 

"Well,  go  ahead,  Souwanas,"  said  Sagastao. 
"We  each  have  a  pocket  handkerchief,  and  when 
they  are  used  up  you  can  lend  us  a  blanket." 

At  this  quaint  speech  everybody  laughed,  and  then 
the  old  man  began  his  second  story  about  Waubenoo. 
"It  all  came  about  because  little  children  have 
long  tongues,  and  this  story  should  warn  little  chil 
dren  that,  while  they  have  two  eyes  and  two  ears, 

141 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

they  have  but  one  tongue,  and  that  they  should  not 
at  any  time  talk  about  or  repeat  half  of  what  they 
have  seen  and  heard. 

"The  little  brothers  and  sisters  of  Waubenoo  had 
been  warned  that  they  should  say  nothing  about  the 
visit  of  Nanahboozhoo  to  their  wigwam.  In  fact, 
Nanahboozhoo  was  such  a  queer  fellow  that  he  did 
not  at  any  time  want  people  to  be  gossiping  about 
him,  and,  if  he  had  done  any  good  deed  for  any 
one,  he  did  not  wish  them  to  be  ever  speaking  about 
it.  Then  another  reason  why  Nanahboozhoo  did 
not  want  them  to  talk  about  his  visit  and  help  was 
the  fear  that  Gray  Wolf,  finding  out  how  it  was  that 
he  had  received  such  a  beating,  would  be  more  bit 
ter  and  revengeful  against  Waubenoo  and  would 
again  try  to  get  her  in  his  power.  The  little  chil 
dren  were,  of  course,  delighted  that  their  wigwam 
was  no  longer  visited  by  Gray  Wolf,  whose  coming 
had  always  filled  them  with  terror,  while  Waube 
noo  was  so  pleased  at  having  thus  got  rid  of  him 
that  she  was  happier  and  brighter  than  she  had  been 
for  a  long  time.  It  was  not  long  before  some  of  the 
other  Indians  noticed  the  change.  They  were  sur 
prised  that  Gray  Wolf  had  so  suddenly  stopped  his 
visits,  and  that  he  seemed  so  dejected  and  sullen. 
Naturally  their  curiosity  was  excited,  and  they  were 
anxious  to  find  out  what  had  happened." 

"Better  to  have  been  minding  their  own  business," 
broke  in  young  Sagastao,  who  seemed  to  see  the 
drift  of  the  story. 

"Be  quiet,  and  do  not  interrupt  Souwanas,"  said 
142 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

Minnehaha,  who  often  felt  called  upon  to  restrain 
her  brother's  impulsiveness. 

"Of  course,"  Souwanas  continued,  "Gray  Wolf 
had  so  suffered  that  he  had  very  little  to  say,  and 
if  ever  teased  about  Waubenoo  he  fell  into  a  great 
passion. 

"Waubenoo  herself  was  too  sensible  to  gratify 
their  idle  curiosity,  but  the  very  return  of  her  bright 
ness,  and  her  unwillingness  to  talk  about  the  matter, 
only  added  to  the  foolish  desires  of  outsiders  to  find 
out  what  had  really  occurred.  So  some  of  these 
naughty  busybodies  began  questioning  the  children 
when  they  could  get  them  away  from  Waubenoo, 
for  in  her  presence  they  were  as  mute  as  she  was. 
They  pestered  and  bothered  the  children  and  tried 
in  various  ways  before  they  succeeded.  But  one 
day,  while  Waubenoo  was  away  overhauling  her 
traps,  some  of  those  wicked  meddlers  visited  her 
wigwam  and  succeeded  in  getting  one  of  the  small 
est  ones — I  just  forget  now  whether  it  was  a  boy 
or  a  girl." 

"A  girl,  of  course,"  shouted  Sagastao. 

"No,  indeed;  I  am  sure  it  was  a  naughty  boy," 
said  Minnehaha. 

"Well,  no  matter  which;  but  one  of  them  said: 
'Nanahboozhoo !' 

"This  one  word,  Nanahboozhoo,  was  quite 
enough  to  startle  and  alarm  them,  for  Nanah 
boozhoo  was  also  much  feared,  as  he  sometimes 
did  dreadful  things. 

"The  fact  that  Nanahboozhoo  had  been  in  their 
143 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

very  midst,  although  they  were  a  long  time  in  hear 
ing  anything  more  than  the  one  word  from  the  now 
frightened  children,  was  quite  enough  to  excite  the 
whole  village,  for  the  news  was  soon  spread  abroad 
by  the  tattlers. 

"Such  busybodies  could  not  be  satisfied  with  only 
hearing  that  Nanahboozhoo  had  visited  the  wig 
wam  of  Waubenoo.  Of  course  they  wanted  to  hear 
about  what  he  said  and  did,  and  I  am  sorry  to 
have  to  say  that  after  a  while,  with  coaxing  and 
presents,  they  managed  to  get  from  the  children 
the  whole  delightfully  exciting  story. 

"When  Gray  Wolf,  who  was  so  jeered  and 
laughed  at  by  all  who  dare,  heard  from  the  gossipers 
how  it  had  happened  that  he  had  received  such  a 
thrashing  he  was  doubly  wild  and  furious. 

"When  Waubenoo  found  out  that  all  was  known 
about  how  Nanahboozhoo  had  helped  her  she  was 
very  sorry  that  her  little  brothers  and  sisters  had 
been  so  naughty  and  disobedient.  She  also  knew 
that  now  she  would  have  to  be  more  careful  than 
ever  against  the  movements  of  Gray  Wolf.  But  the 
fact  was  that  he  had  been  so  cowed  by  his  beating 
that  he  was  afraid  to  openly  attack  her,  lest  she 
should  get  Nanahboozhoo  to  help  her  again  and  it 
might  be  worse  for  him  than  it  was  at  his  first 
meeting.  But  he  treasured  up  revengeful  feelings 
in  his  heart  and  resolved  that  at  some  time  or  other 
he  would  dreadfully  punish  her. 

"Some  years  passed  by,  and  the  older  children, 
next  to  Waubenoo,  were  able  to  do  most  of  the  hunt- 

144 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

ing  and  fishing  as  well  as  to  be  on  guard  against 
any  of  the  evil  doings  of  Gray  Wolf.  Thus 
they  were  able,  in  a  measure,  to  repay  their  sister, 
whom  they  dearly  loved,  although  they  were  so 
thoughtless,  for  all  her  great  kindness  to  them. 

"One  fall  there  came  to  the  village  a  splendid 
Indian  hunter.  He  was  of  the  same  tribe,  but  lived 
with  his  people,  most  of  the  time,  at  a  distant  part 
of  the  country.  He  was  so  pleased  with  this  village, 
where  dwelt  Waubenoo,  that  he  decided  to  remain 
for  the  winter  and  hunt.  He  was  such  a  very  pleas 
ant  fellow  and  such  a  great  hunter  that  he  soon 
made  many  friends.  Gray  Wolf  was  the  only  man 
who  seemed  to  hate  him,  and  he  was  even  so  rash 
as  to  insult  him  openly  in  an  Indian  gathering. 

"Soquaatum,  for  this  was  the  young  warrior's 
name,  stood  the  insults  of  Gray  Wolf  for  some  time, 
then,  when  he  saw  that  some  of  the  young  hunters 
began  to  think  he  was  afraid  of  Gray  Wolf,  he 
suddenly  sprang  at  him  and  knocked  him  down,  and 
then  seizing  him  by  his  belt,  he  shook  him  as  easily 
and  thoroughly  as  a  wildcat  would  a  rabbit.  Then 
he  threw  him  from  him  and  sat  down  among  the 
people  as  though  nothing  had  happened. 

'That  evening,  when  he  and  the  relatives  with 
whom  he  lived  were  seated  around  the  fire  in  the 
wigwam,  he  heard  for  the  first  time  the  story  of 
Waubenoo :  of  her  great  industry,  her  love  for  her 
little  brothers  and  sisters,  and  how  she  had  been 
threatened  by  Gray  Wolf  and  then  befriended  by 
Nanahboozhoo. 

i4S 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

'This  story  very  much  interested  Soquaatum,  and 
especially  as  in  his  hunting  he  had  met  her  younger 
brother,  now  a  fine  strapping  hunter,  and  had  be 
come  very  fond  of  him,  although  he  was  much 
younger.  So  he  resolved  that  as  soon  as  he 
could  he  would  visit  her  wigwam  and  seek  her 
acquaintance." 

"Ho!  Ho!  So  this  is  to  be  a  love  story,"  said 
Sagastao. 

"Be  quiet,  do,"  said  his  sister.  "All  love  stories 
do  not  end  well.  Remember,  there  was  Gray  Wolf !" 

Souwanas  profited  by  the  interruption,  for  it  gave 
him  an  opportunity  to  light  his  pipe  with  flint  and 
steel,  and  he  then  resumed  the  story. 

"Soon  after  Soquaatum  arrayed  himself  in  his 
most  attractive  costume  and  called  at  the  tent  of 
Waubenoo.  His  excuse  was  that  he  wanted  to  see 
her  brother  and  arrange  some  hunting  excursion. 

"Waubenoo,  who  had  often  heard  her  brother 
speak  of  his  great  skill  as  a  hunter,  and  had  also 
heard  how  easily  and  thoroughly  he  had  handled 
Gray  Wolf,  received  him  most  kindly  and  at  once 
made  him  welcome. 

"Well,  it  is  not  surprising  that  he  should  soon  fall 
in  love  with  Waubenoo,  and  so  pleased  was  she  with 
his  manner,  as  well  as  his  attractive  appearance,  that 
she  became  very  fond  of  him,  and  it  was  not  many 
days  after  their  first  meeting  before  it  was  noised 
abroad  that  Soquaatum  and  Waubenoo  were  lovers. 

"Soquaatum  remained  until  about  the  middle  of 
the  winter.  Then  he  returned  to  his  distant  home  to 

146 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

make  all  preparations  for  receiving  his  wife,  for 
whom  he  was  to  come  in  the  spring. 

"Gray  Wolf  was,  of  course,  furious  when  he  heard 
that  Waubenoo  was  to  be  married,  and  to  the  man 
who  had  humiliated  him  in  the  presence  of  so  many 
people.  Though  angry  and  revengeful,  he  was  at 
heart  a  cowardly  fellow,  and  now  that  Waubenoo's 
brother  was  full-grown  he  was  afraid  of  him,  as 
well  as  of  Soquaatum  while  he  was  in  the  neighbor 
hood.  But  his  fears  did  not  prevent  him  from  think 
ing  of  schemes  for  revenge  which,  however,  came  to 
nothing,  because  the  friends  of  Waubenoo  were  so 
vigilant  and  well  prepared. 

"At  length  one  of  his  plans  succeeded,  and  this 
is  how  it  happened: 

"Gray  Wolf  enlisted  a  young  Indian  who  was 
equally  bad  with  himself  to  help  him.  As  Soqua 
atum  had  now  been  gone  for  some  weeks  to  his 
home,  which  was  far  east  from  that  region,  Gray 
Wolf  and  his  wicked  companion  went  a  good  long 
distance — many  miles — in  that  direction.  There 
they  made  a  hunting  lodge  and  laid  their  plans  to 
capture  Waubenoo.  Then  Gray  Wolf's  companion 
went  back  and  remained  secreted  near  the  wigwam 
of  Waubenoo.  One  night  he  saw  her  two  brothers 
leave,  about  midnight,  for  some  distant  traps  that 
would  take  them  all  day  to  reach. 

"As  soon  as  this  bad  fellow  was  satisfied  that  they 
were  well  out  of  sight  and  hearing  he  rushed  up  to 
the  tent  of  Waubenoo  and  hastily  aroused  her  from 
her  sleep.  He  had  arrayed  himself  as  though  he 

i47 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

had  come  a  long  journey.  She  did  not  know  him, 
and  so  believed  what  he  said.  He  told  her  he  had 
just  arrived  from  the  wigwam  where  was  her  lover, 
Soquaatum,  who  had  started  to  come  to  see  her  but 
had  become  very  sick,  and  was  now  lying  in  a  wig 
wam  about  a  day's  journey  distant.  He  said  that 
Soquaatum  was  very  ill,  but  that  he  felt  sure  that 
if  she  could  come  and  nurse  him  he  would  soon  be 
very  much  better. 

"Waubenoo  was  very  much  alarmed,  and  so  were 
her  sisters.  They  were  all  perplexed  and  did  not 
know  what  to  do.  The  sisters  wanted  to  call  in 
some  men  friends,  but  the  stranger  said  that  that 
was  not  at  all  necessary,  that  he  himself  was  a  great 
friend  of  Soquaatum  and  would  safely  guide  her 
to  him.  Waubenoo's  great  love  for  her  lover  caused 
her  to  forget  her  usual  caution,  and  so,  although  her 
sisters  protested  against  her  going  with  this  entire 
stranger,  love  conquered,  and  she  hastily  prepared 
herself  for  the  long  journey.  She  put  a  blanket  and 
some  food  in  a  sack,  strapped  it  on  her  back,  and 
then  tying  her  snowshoes  on  her  moccasined  feet  she 
told  the  stranger  to  go  on  as  fast  as  he  could  and 
she  would  keep  up  with  him.  Little  did  she  imag 
ine,  as  they  so  rapidly  sped  on,  that  she  was  being 
led  right  into  the  clutches  of  Gray  Wolf.  Ignorant 
of  this,  however,  and  alarmed  at  the  news  of  the 
sickness  of  her  lover,  she  pushed  this  false  Indian 
on  with  such  rapidity  that  he,  who  was  naturally  a 
lazy  fellow  as  well  as  wicked,  never  had  to  travel 
faster  in  his  life.  Only  at  sunrise,  and  then  about 

148 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

noon,  did  Waubenoo  allow  any  stopping  for  some 
thing  to  eat.  She  was  angry  at  the  fellow  who  could 
tell  her  so  little  about  her  lover  and  his  sickness.  He, 
on  his  part,  was  cunning  enough  to  say  very  little, 
for  fear  he  would  excite  her  suspicion  and  cause 
her  to  turn  back.  Thus  on  and  on  they  went  until 
they  had  traveled  for  about  twelve  hours;  when  all 
at  once  the  man  gave  a  horrid  laugh  of  triumph  and 
threw  himself  down,  tired  out,  at  the  door  of  the 
hunting  lodge  of  Gray  Wolf. 

"That  laugh  was  enough  for  Waubenoo.  She  felt 
that  she  had  been  betrayed  and  soon  she  was  doubly 
convinced  of  it,  for  who  should  come  out  of  the 
tent  but  Gray  Wolf  himself.  Instantly  she  turned 
and  began  the  desperate  race  for  home. 

"Gray  Wolf,  who  had  been  sleeping  when  he  was 
aroused,  lost  a  little  time  in  getting  on  his  leather 
coat  and  snowshoes,  but  he  was  fresh  for  the  race, 
while  poor  Waubenoo  was  nearly  tired  out  with 
the  long  journey  that  she  had  already  made.  Fear 
gave  additional  strength  to  her,  and  she  had  gone 
quite  a  distance  ere  she  heard  the  yells  of  triumph 
of  her  bitter  enemy.  Terrified  by  these  sounds,  she 
sped  on  with  a  swiftness  that  made  it  necessary  for 
her  merciless  pursuer  to  make  the  most  desperate 
efforts  to  keep  her  in  sight. 

"What  made  it  worse,  in  her  terror  she  lost  the 
homeward  trail,  and  really  did  not  know  where  she 
was  going.  All  she  seemed  to  desire  was  to  get 
away  from  this  terrible  man  who  was  on  her  trail. 

As  her  strength  began  to  fail  and  she  felt  that  he 

149 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

was  gaining  on  her,  she  began  calling:  'Soqua- 
atum!  SoquaatumF  Alas!  he  was  far  away,  but 
there  was  another  who,  fortunately,  was  near.  Na- 
nahboozhoo  had  been  out  hunting  and  he  had  a  sled 
which  he  was  dragging,  loaded  with  game.  He 
was  surprised  as  he  heard  this  calling,  'Soquaatum ! 
Soquaatum !'  and  as  he  continued  listening  it  be 
came  hoarse  and  then  only  like  a  whisper.  He  could 
stand  it  no  longer;  he  rushed  through  the  woods 
and  there  he  saw  Waubenoo,  dashing  along  on  snow- 
shoes,  calling  in  a  low  whisper:  'Soquaatum!  So 
quaatum!'  while  not  a  hundred  feet  behind  her  was 
Gray  Wolf,  yelling  in  triumph  that  he  would  soon 
capture  her.  Unfortunately  Nanahboozhoo  was  not 
in  a  very  good  humor  that  day.  He  had  heard  of 
some  little  children  that  had  been  tattling  about  him, 
and  he  had  heard  that  the  children  in  the  tent  of 
Waubenoo  had  told  about  his  visit. 

"However,  when  he  saw  who  it  was  that  was  in 
danger,  and  heard  her  cry  to  him  for  help  when  she 
saw  him,  and  especially  when  he  saw  who  it  was 
that  was  after  her,  he  quickly  turned  Waubenoo  in 
to  a  bird  and  without  any  trouble  she  quickly  flew 
up  into  a  tree  out  of  the  reach  of  danger. 

"Ever  since  that  Waubenoo  has  been  the  Whisky 
Jack,  and  if  you  will  listen  to  Whisky  Jack  when  he 
is  not  scolding  or  clamoring  at  your  camp  for  food 
his  voice  is  like  that  of  the  lost  Indian  maiden,  with 
a  bad  cold,  calling  for  her  lover." 

"What  did  Nanahboozhoo  do  to  Gray  Wolf?" 

said  Sagastao. 

150 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

"Hush,"  said  Minnehaha.  "Don't  you  know  Na- 
nahboozhoo  doesn't  like  to  have  children  talk  about 
him?" 

This  excessive  caution  on  the  part  of  the  little  girl 
vastly  amused  Souwanas.  Then  he  told  them  that 
Nanahboozhoo  turned  Gray  Wolf  into  a  dog  and 
made  him  draw  home  his  heavy  load  of  meat. 


151 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 


CHAPTER    XV. 

A  Novel  Race:  the  Wolverine 
and  the  Rock — How  the 
Wolverine's  Legs  were 
Shortened  —  A  Punishment 
for  Conceit. 

^  HERE  was  great  excitement  one  morn 
ing  among  the  children  in  the  school 
room  when  Mary  came  in  with  the  word  that 
some  hunters  with  their  dog  sleds  had  called, 
and  that  they  had  with  them  a  great  wolverine 
which  had  been  killed  in  the  woods  not  very 
far  away.  The  children  ran  out  to  look  at  it. 

Now  the  wolverine  is  known  to  be  such  a 
cunning,  clever  animal  that  the  killing  of  one  is  quite 
an  event  among  the  Indians,  and  the  lucky  hunter 
who  succeeds  in  destroying  one  is  the  hero  of  the 
hour.  A  man  may  on  one  hunting  trip  kill  several 
bears  or  wolves,  or  many  other  animals,  and  there 
is  not  much  said  about  it,  but  to  kill  a  wolverine, 
that  pest  and  scourge  of  the  hunters,  is  indeed  a  feat 
that  any  man  is  proud  of. 

"Why  is  it  called  a  wolverine?'*  asked  Sagastao. 
"Because  it  was  once  like  a  wolf,  and  had  small 
feet  and  long  legs,  but  now  its  legs  are  short  and  its 
feet  are  very  large." 

"What  shortened  its  legs  and  made  its  feet  become 
so  large?"  asked  Sagastao. 

152 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

It  was  too  cold  a  day  to  remain  any  longer  out 
side  looking  at  the  wolverine,  or  to  learn  more  about 
it,  so  the  children  were  obliged  to  return  to  their 
warm  schoolroom,  where  their  lessons  were  resumed. 

It  was  evident,  however,  that  both  Sagastao  and 
Minnehaha  were  ready  with  a  couple  of  questions 
for  Mary,  and  it  was  not  long  after  school  hours 
that  they  sought  her  and  asked : 

"Mary,  what  was  it  that  shortened  the  legs  of 
the  wolverine?  and  what  made  his  feet  so  big?" 

"The  wolverine,"  replied  Mary,  "was  once  the 
finest  of  all  the  different  kinds  of  wolves.  He  had 
the  softest  and  nicest  of  fur.  His  legs  were  long,  and 
his  feet  were  firm  and  handsome,  but  he  was  an 
awfully  conceited  fellow.  He  fancied  he  was  the 
handsomest  creature  in  existence  and  looked  down 
with  contempt  on  all  the  other  kinds  of  wolves.  He 
used  to  go  to  the  side  of  the  clear  transparent  lake, 
where  he  could  see  his  shadow  reflected  in  the  water, 
and  he  would  strut  up  and  down  and  say :  'O  dear, 
what  a  lovely  creature  I  am !' 

"It  is  true  he  was  very  clever  in  many  ways.  He 
was  so  swift  that  he  could  run  down  even  the  ante 
lope  and  the  elk,  and  at  all  the  great  animal  gather 
ings,  where  the  different  creatures  met  in  council, 
he  was  the  swiftest  there,  and  easily  won  the  chief 
prizes  at  the  great  races  which  the  animals  used  to 
hold.  Indeed,  he  won  so  many  races  that  at  length 
he  could  get  no  animal  to  compete  with  him.  He 
even  tried  to  get  up  races  with  the  birds,  but  they 
laughed  at  him  for  his  conceit. 

153 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

"One  day  he  happened  to  be  hunting  among  the 
mountains.  Near  the  top  of  one  he  saw  a  large 
ball-like  rock,  standing  there  apart  from  the  other 
big  rocks.  Coming  up  close  to  this  great  round 
rock  he  said  to  it : 

"  'Was  that  you  I  saw  walking  just  now?' 

"  'No ;  I  cannot  walk,  I  have  lain  here  for  a  long 
time/  said  the  rock. 

"The  wolverine  retorted  that  he  was  sure  he  had 
seen  the  rock  walking. 

"This  made  the  rock  angry  and  he  told  the 
wolverine  that  he  was  telling  a  falsehood.  Then 
the  saucy  wolverine  replied : 

"  'You  need  not  speak  to  me  in  that  way,  for  I 
have  seen  you  walking/ 

"Then  the  wolverine  ran  off  a  little  distance  and 
challenged  the  rock  to  catch  him.  But  the  rock  did 
not  reply  to  this  and  the  bold  wolverine  came  close 
up  to  the  rock,  struck  it  with  his  paw,  and  said : 

"  '  Come,  now,  see  if  you  can  catch  me !' 

"  'I  cannot  run/  said  the  rock,  'but  I  can  roll/ 

"At  this  the  conceited  wolverine  began  to  laugh. 
'That  will  do!  All  I  want  is  a  race.  You  can  run 
or  roll,  just  as  you  like/ 

"Then  the  race  began;  the  wolverine  started 
down  the  mountain  side  at  a  great  rate,  and  the 
rock  came  rolling  behind  him.  At  first  the  big  rock 
did  not  move  very  fast,  and  the  wolverine  laughed 
as  he  looked  back  and  saw  the  rock  was  so  far  be 
hind.  But  the  rock  came  on  faster  and  faster,  and 
now  it  made  the  wolverine  do  his  very  best  to  keep 

154 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

ahead  of  it.  On  they  rushed,  over  the  sticks  and 
stones  and  rough  places,  down — down  that  great, 
long  mountain  side.  At  length,  swift  and  strong 
as  he  was,  the  wolverine  began  to  get  tired,  and 
although  he  was  running  as  he  never  did  before  in 
his  life  the  big  rock  was  surely  gaining  on  him.  By 
and  by  he  was  so  frightened  that  in  looking  behind 
at  the  rock,  now  close  at  his  heels,  he  tripped  over 
a  stick  and  down  he  fell.  The  rock  rolled  over  him 
and,  just  as  it  had  completely  crushed  him  down  to 
the  earth,  there  it  stopped. 

"Then  the  wolverine,  whose  head  was  not  crushed 
under  the  rock,  cried  out : 

"  'Get  off !  go  away !  you  are  hurting  me.  You 
are  crushing  my  bones/ 

"But  the  rock  replied: 

"  'You  tormented  me  and  told  me  I  was  telling 
a  falsehood,  and  you  challenged  me  to  a  race  with 
you;  and  now  that  I  have 'caught  you  I  will  not 
stir  until  some  one  stronger  comes  and  takes  me  off/ 

"Then  the  wolverine  lifted  up  his  voice  and  cried 
to  his  relatives,  the  wolves  and  foxes,  to  come  and 
remove  the  rock. 

"When  these  animals  came  and  saw  him  in  such  a 
plight,  they  asked  him : 

"  'How  came  you  to  get  under  the  rock  ?* 

"The  wolverine  replied : 

"  'I  challenged  the  rock  to  catch  me,  and  it  rolled 
on  me.' 

"When  the  wolves  and  the  foxes  heard  this  they 
were  not  very  sorry.  They  knew  how  conceited  the 

155 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

wolverine  had  been  about  his  speed,  indeed  they 
were  all  smarting  because  of  the  ease  with  which 
he  had  beaten  them,  and  so,  instead  of  helping  him 
at  once,  they  said  he  deserved  his  punishment. 

"After  a  time,  however,  they  began  to  be  sorry  for 
the  poor  wolverine,  who  was  crying  out  piteously  for 
help,  but  they  found  they  were  not  able  to  remove 
the  rock.  They  could  not  even  stir  it  in  the  least. 

"  'Get  out  of  the  way/  said  the  wolverine,  'and 
I  will  call  my  other  friends,  the  thunder  and  the 
lightning/ 

"In  a  few  minutes  a  great  black  cloud  was  seen 
rapidly  coming  out  of  the  west.  As  it  came  rush 
ing  along  the  foxes  and  the  wolves  were  very  much 
frightened  by  the  great  noise  it  made.  However, 
they  had  courage  enough  to  ask  the  lightning  to 
take  off  the  fine  coat  of  the  wolverine  but  not  to  kill 
him.  Then  they  ran  back  and  watched  to  see  the 
lightning  do  its  work.  The  lightning  promised  to 
do  what  had  been  asked  of  him;  for  he  had  heard 
of  this  proud,  conceited  wolverine,  who  had  boasted 
that  he  could  run  like  lightning,  and  now  he  was 
just  going  to  teach  him  a  lesson.  So  he  darted  back 
a  distance  to  gather  force,  and  then  he  came  on  with 
a  rush  and  struck  the  rock  and  knocked  it  into  small 
pieces.  He  also  completely  stripped  the  skin  from 
the  back  of  the  wolverine  but  did  not  kill  him. 
When  the  wolverine  got  up  and  stood  there  naked, 
with  all  his  beauty  gone,  he  was  very  angry  at  the 
lightning. 

"  'You  are  like  other  so-called  friends  I  have  heard 
156 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN 

about/  he  said ;  'you  cannot  do  a  thing  but  you  must 
overdo  it  and  spoil  all.  You  had  no  need  tQ  tear 
my  beautiful  fur  coat  from  my  back  when  you  knew 
I  only  asked  you  to  come  and  strike  the  rock.' 

"Then  the  poor,  shivering  wolverine  gathered  the 
pieces  of  his  coat  and  carried  them  to  his  sister  the 
frog,  who  dwelt  in  a  marsh,  and  he  asked  her  to  sew 
them  together.  The  frog  had  sore  eyes,  and  when 
she  sewed  them  together  she  did  not  do  it  properly. 
Hence  the  wolverine  was  very  angry,  and  he  hit  her 
a  crack  on  the  head  and  knocked  her  into  the  water. 
Then  he  took  up  the  coat  and  went  and  found  his 
youngest  sister,  the  mouse.  He  told  her  of  his 
troubles,  and  how  the  frog  had  so  badly  done  her 
work.  Then  he  showed  the  mouse  how  he  wanted 
the  coat  to  be  sewed.  His  little  sister  felt  badly  for 
her  big  brother,  and  so  she  set  to  work  and  with 
great  care  sewed  all  the  pieces  together  in  their  right 
places.  When  the  wolverine  saw  how  nicely  she  had 
done  her  work  he  was  much  pleased. 

"  'You  mice  may  live  everywhere/  he  said,  in  real 
gratitude,  'and  in  spite  of  all  your  enemies  you  will 
never  be  destroyed/ 

"Then  the  wolverine  tried  to  put  on  his  coat,  but, 
alas!  he  found  his  legs  had  been  shortened  and  his 
feet  very  much  flattened  out  by  the  terrible  crushing 
he  had  had  under  that  big  stone  which  he  had  been 
so  foolish  as  to  challenge  to  a  race." 

"Guess  he  didn't  run  many  more  races/'  said 
Sagastao. 

"No,  indeed/'  was  the  reply;  "he  was  so  morti- 
157 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

fied  and  angry  that  from  that  day  to  this  the  wolver 
ine  has  always  been  a  sulking,  solitary  animal,  and 
playing  all  the  mean  tricks  he  can  on  all  kinds  of 
animals  as  though  he  had  a  spite  against  them.  He 
now  has  not  one  friend  who  ever  cares  for  him, 
unless  it  is  his  little  sister  the  mouse." 


158 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

The  Legend  of  the  Twin  Children  of  the  Sun — How  They 
Rid  the  Earth  of  Some  of  the  Great  Monsters — Their  Great 
Battle  with  Nikoochis,  the  Giant. 

NE  pleasant  summer  day,  when  the  children 
had  the  pleasure  of  a  canoe  outing  with 
Mary    and    Kennedy,    they    decided    to 
visit  the  wigwam  of  their  old  friends, 
Kinnesasis  and  his  wife.     They  had  not 
seen  them  for  some  time,  and  as  Sou- 
wanas  was  away  on  a  long  hunting  ex 
cursion  they  could  not  expect  any  Na- 
nahboozhoo  stories  until  his  return.     Kinne 
sasis  was  a  capital  story-teller,  and  they  were 
eager  to  reach  his  wigwam.     There,  after 
making  both  him  and  his  wife  happy  with 
some  gifts,  they  knew  they  could  get  some 
interesting  stories  in  return. 

They  met  with  a  hearty  welcome  and  spent  a 
happy  day  there.  Among  the  stories  Kinnesasis 
told  them,  as  handed  down  by  his  forefathers,  the 
following  is  perhaps  the  most  interesting : 

"Long  ago  there  were  great  monsters  on  this 
earth.  Some  of  them  were  enormous  animals  and 
fiercer  than  any  that  now  exist.  Then  there  were 
magicians,  and  other  evil  spirits,  like  windegoos, 
some  of  whom  were  tall,  giant  cannibals,  that  filled 

159 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

the  people  with  terror.  They  lay  in  wait  and  caught 
the  children,  and  even  the  grown-up  people,  as  the 
wild  beasts  now  catch  their  prey.  Then  they 
kindled  up  great  fires  and  roasted  them  and  ate 
them. 

"Often,  when  the  parents  went  to  look  for  their 
children,  they  also  were  caught  and  eaten. 

'The  people  were  rendered  very  miserable  not 
only  by  these  great  monsters  in  human  form,  but 
also  by  the  attacks  of  the  enormous  animals  that 
then  lived.  Indeed  they  began  to  fear  that  they 
would  all  soon  be  killed,  unless  help  came  to  them. 

"These  people  were  worshipers  of  the  sun,  whom 
they  called  the  great  Sun  Father,  and  some  tribes 
still  have  their  sun  dances  in  his  honor.  When  he 
saw  that  the  people  were  in  such  great  trouble  and 
were  likely  to  be  all  killed  by  their  cruel  enemies  he 
resolved  to  deliver  them  from  their  foes.  So  he  dis 
guised  himself  and  came  down  to  the  earth  and  mar 
ried  a  beautiful  woman  of  the  Northland.  They 
had  lovely  twin  boys,  whose  names  were  Sesigizit, 
the  older,  and  Ooseemeeid,  the  younger.  They  grew 
so  rapidly  that  they  were  able  to  walk  when  only  a 
few  days  old.  Their  sun  father  disappeared  as  soon 
as  they  were  born,  going  to  the  far  Eastland. 

"Strange  to  say,  although  these  two  boys  grew  so 
rapidly  at  first,  they  as  suddenly  ceased  growing, 
and  so  remained  quite  small.  But  they  were  very 
intelligent,  and  were  ever  asking  questions. 

"  'Who  is  our  father  ?'  they  inquired  of  their 
mother  one  day. 

160 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

But  she  ignored  the  question,  and  although  they 
kept  bothering  her  it  was  a  long  time  before  she 
would  give  them  any  information  at  all,  and  that 
was  very  little.  However,  she  did  tell  them  that 
they  were  more  than  ordinary  children  and  finer 
than  other  boys,  but  then  there  are  lots  of  mothers 
who  say  such  things  to  their  own  little  ones. 

"As  they  were  now  big  enough,  she  brought  out 
of  hiding  a  couple  of  bows,  and  quivers  full  of  ar 
rows,  and  some  magic  rabbit  sticks,  and  gave  them 
to  the  boys. 

"  These  were  left  for  you  by  your  father/  said 
the  mother,  ere  he  went  away,  and  he  gave  com 
mands  that  they  were  to  be  given  to  you  as  soon 
as  you  were  able  to  use  them/ 

"The  children  were,  of  course,  anxious  to  try  their 
bows  and  arrows  and  these  magic  sticks.  So  very 
soon  after  they  had  received  them  they  resolved  to 
go  off  on  a  hunting  expedition. 

"The  mother,  who  was  anxious  about  them, 
warned  them  of  the  various  monsters  in  human 
shape,  great  windegoos  and  cannibals,  that  were 
ever  lying  in  wait  to  catch  and  roast  and  eat  little 
boys.  She  also  told  them  of  the  animals  that  were 
so  enormously  large  that  they  could  catch  them  up 
and  swallow  them  as  easily  as  a  turkey  does  a 
grasshopper. 

"Thus  she  tried  to  put  them  on  their  guard 
against  the  terrible  foes  that  had  devoured  so  many 
of  their  people.  The  boys,  however,  were  not  much 
frightened,  and  they  eagerly  set  off  on  their  journey. 

x6i 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

'They  were  especially  warned  by  their  anxious 
mother  not  to  go  to  the  east,  as  there  was  a  narrow 
lake  there  to  which  many  of  these  evil  creatures 
came  for  water,  especially  a  great  monster  wolf  that 
had  devoured  many  people.  Yet  they  immediately 
started  off  in  that  direction,  for,  like  some  other 
boys,  they  did  not  obey  even  their  mother.  It  was 
noon  before  they  reached  the  lake.  At  first,  as  they 
examined  it,  everything  seemed  very  quiet  and  still. 

"  'Mother  must  have  been  mistaken/  said  Sesigi- 
zit ;  'I  do  not  see  any  living  thing  here.' 

"But  as  they  wandered  farther  along  the  shore, 
suddenly  Ooseemeeid  cried  out: 

"  'O  see  that  great  wolf  on  the  other  side !' 

"They  dropped  down  as  quickly  as  they  could,  but 
the  fierce  brute  had  already  caught  sight  of  them. 
He  was  very  much  larger  than  any  of  the  wolves 
that  now  howl  in  the  dark  forests.  He  not  only  de 
stroyed  many  of  the  people,  but  when  he  came  to 
springs,  or  small  streams,  he  either  drank  up  all  the 
water  or  so  spoiled  it  that  it  was  unfit  for  use. 

"The  boys  shot  their  arrows  at  him,  but  his  sides 
were  so  tough,  for  he  had  bones  like  jointed  armor 
upon  them,  that  he  was  only  slightly  wounded.  He 
was,  however,  made  very  angry  by  their  attacks,  and 
he  picked  up  a  magic  stick  and  threw  it  at  them. 
They  would  have  fared  badly  if  they  had  not  so 
suddenly  thrown  themselves  upon  the  ground  that 
it  passed  over  them. 

"When  the  boys  saw  that  their  arrows  were  not 
swift  enough  to  kill  such  a  great  animal  they  decided 

162 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

to  use  the  magic  rabbit  sticks  which  their  father,  the 
sun,  had  given  them,  with  orders  that  they  were  only 
to  be  used  when  the  arrows  failed. 

"The  wolf,  when  he  saw  that  one  of  his  magic 
sticks  had  missed  its  aim,  was  more  savage  than 
ever,  and  he  seized  his  remaining  one,  for  he  only 
had  two,  and  he  threw  it  with  all  his  power  at  the 
boys.  This  time  they  both  jumped  high  up  from  the 
ground  and  the  stick  passed  under  them. 

"It  was  their  turn  now?  and  so  they  both  threw 
their  magic  sticks  with  such  force  that  the  great 
bony  armor  of  the  wolf  was  crushed  in  and  he  was 
killed. 

"Sesigizit  quickly  ran  around  the  lake  to  the  spot 
where  the  great  body  lay  and  cut  out  the  heart  of 
the  wolf,  while  Ooseemeeid  secured  the  two  magic 
sticks  that  the  wolf  had  thrown  at  them,  as  well  as 
their  own  weapons,  and  then  with  these  trophies 
they  returned  to  their  own  home. 

"  'Where  have  you  been  ?'  asked  the  anxious 
mother  when  they  appeared. 

"  'We  have  been  to  the  lake/  they  replied. 

"She  could  hardly  believe  it. 

"  'My  boys,'  she  said,  'you  surely  are  mistaken, 
for  no  one  who  goes  there  returns.  The  great  mon 
sters  that  devour  our  people  live  there,  and  they  let 
no  one  escape.' 

"Then  they  told  her  of  their  battle  with  the  great 
wolf,  and  how  they  had  killed  him.  They  also 
showed  her  his  heart,  which  they  had  brought  home 
with  them. 

163 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

"She  was  very  much  excited.  She  called  the  peo 
ple  together,  and  there  was  great  rejoicing  at  the 
death  of  this  terrible  wolf  which  had  been  such  a 
scourge  to  them. 

"Some  time  after  Sesigizit  and  Ooseemeeid 
asked  their  mother  if  she  knew  where  grew  any 
good  tough  wood  suitable  for  making  bows  and 
arrows.  Her  answer  was : 

"  Tar  away  in  the  foothills  is  a  canyon,  or  ravine, 
where  a  forest  of  just  such  wood  as  you  need  is 
growing,  but  the  path  that  leads  to  it  is  narrow,  and 
there  sits  guard  a  great  monster  giant  who  kills 
and  throws  into  the  ravine  everyone  who  has  at 
tempted  to  get  any  of  that  wood.  And  in  addition 
there  is  a  fierce  mountain  lioness  prowling  around 
somewhere  on  the  route,  and  she  has  already  killed 
many  people  and  carried  them  off  to  her  den/ 

"Ooseemeeid  at  once  desired  to  set  off  and  get 
a  supply  of  this  wood,  but  Sesigizit,  when  he  found 
out  how  fearful  their  mother  was  that  they  would 
both  be  killed  if  they  made  the  attempt,  at  first  re 
fused  to  go.  His  objection,  however,  vanished  when 
he  saw  his  brother  making  ready  to  start,  and  in 
spite  of  their  mother's  fears  they  started  off. 

"They  had  not  gone  very  far  when  they  met  the 
great  mountain  lioness.  She  was  out  hunting  food 
for  her  cubs.  These  she  had  hidden  in  a  den  which 
was  away  up  on  a  precipitous  mountain  side. 

"Ooseemeeid  asked  her  if  she  knew  the  way  to 
the  canyon  where  grew  the  good  wood. 

"  'Yes/  she  replied.  'I  am  just  going  that  way, 
164 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

and  I  will  show  you  the  route.'  She  said  this  be 
cause  she  wished  in  this  way  to  allure  the  two  boys 
to  walk  near  to  her  den,  and  there  she  would  kill 
them  for  food  for  her  cubs. 

"So  she  led  them  until  they  came  to  a  place  where 
the  path  was  very  dangerous,  because  it  was  on  a 
narrow,  shelving  rock  around  the  mountain  side. 
Here  the  monster  lioness  asked  the  boys  to  walk  on 
ahead  of  her,  but  they  refused,  saying  that  they  had 
been  taught  never  to  walk  in  front  of  their  elders. 
The  lioness  urged,  but  the  boys  were  firm,  and  so 
she  had  to  yield  and  let  them  have  their  way. 

"When  in  the  most  dangerous  part  of  the  pass 
the  boys  pretended  to  be  very  much  alarmed,  and 
asked  to  be  permitted  to  walk  between  her  and  the 
mountain  side.  At  first  she  was  suspicious,  but  they 
seemed  now  to  be  so  cowardly  and  afraid  that  she 
thought  they  were  not  able  to  do  her  any  harm,  so 
she  walked  on  the  outer  edge  of  the  pass  and  let 
them  have  the  inside,  and  also  allowed  them  to  put 
their  hands  on  her  as  though  to  steady  themselves. 
When  they  came  to  the  most  dangerous  spot,  where 
it  was  so  narrow  that  even  a  mountain  lion  had  to 
be  careful,  they  both  suddenly  drew  their  magic 
sticks  and,  giving  her  a  great  shove,  sent  her  over 
the  side  of  the  narrow  rocky  ledge  and  down  she 
fell — to  be  dashed  to  pieces  thousands  of  feet  below. 

"With  a  shout  of  triumph  the  two  boys  carefully 
pushed  on  and,  finding  the  den,  quickly  killed  the 
cubs  and  cut  off  the  right  forepaw  from  each  one  to 
carry  home. 

165 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

"From  this  high  pass  they  could  now  see  the  can 
yon  where  grew  the  good  wood  for  which  they  were 
seeking.  They  also  saw  the  lodge  of  the  monster 
giant  who  guarded  the  narrow  path  that  led  to  it. 
They  saw  by  its  size  that  he  must  be  an  enormous 
creature,  and  so  they  looked  to  see  that  their  arrows 
and  magic  sticks  were  all  in  good  order  and  handy 
for  use. 

"The  great  giant  had  heard  their  shout  of  triumph 
when  they  had  destroyed  the  mountain  lioness  and 
it  made  him  very  angry,  for  he  hated  any  noise  or 
disturbance;  his  name,  Nikoochis,  which  means 
solitude,  indicated  this. 

"When  he  saw  the  small  boys  he  was  at  first  in 
clined  to  laugh  in  derision  at  them,  but  when  they 
had  come  near  enough  to  shoot  their  magic  arrows 
at  him  he  soon  began  to  roar  with  the  stinging  pain 
they  gave  him. 

"In  vain  he  tried  to  catch  the  active  little  fellows ; 
he  was  so  big  and  clumsy,  and  they  were  so  quick 
in  their  movements,  that  it  was  an  utter  impossi 
bility  for  him  to  get  his  hands  upon  them. 

"Then  he  began  tearing  up  great  rocks  and  stones 
and  tried  to  crush  them  by  hurling  these  at  them. 
Here  the  boys'  father,  the  sun,  came  to  their  help, 
and  he  shone  so  fiercely  into  the  eyes  of  the  great 
monster  that  he  was  unable  to  see  very  well,  and 
the  boys  easily  kept  out  of  the  way  of  the  rocks 
thrown  at  them. 

"The  monster  was  big  and  fat  and  unaccustomed 
to  exertion,  and  he  was  soon  tired  out.  Indeed  he 

166 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

was  so  big  that  the  arrows  of  the  boys  seemed  only 
like  pins  and  needles  sticking  into  him,  and  the  boys 
began  to  fear  that  their  quivers  would  be  emptied 
before  they  had  conquered  him.  Just  then  they  met 
an  old  witch  with  a  bundle  of  sticks  which  she  was 
carrying  to  her  wigwam.  She  was  very  angry  with 
Nikoochis,  for  he  would  not  allow  her  even  to  gather 
the  dry  sticks  that  fell  to  the  ground  in  the  forest 
he  was  guarding.  The  result  was  that  she  had  to 
wander  far  away  to  get  the  little  fuel  she  needed  in 
her  wigwam. 

"The  boys  told  her  of  their  battle  with  this  selfish 
old  monster,  and  that  even  now  he  was  badly 
wounded  by  their  arrows,  which,  however,  did  not 
seem  to  reach  any  vital  spot.  She  told  them  that  the 
only  place  where  their  weapons  could  be  effectual 
in  killing  him  was  in  the  top  of  his  skull.  That  they 
must  first  in  some  way  crack  it  with  their  magic 
rabbit  sticks,  and  then  they  could  shoot  their  arrows 
into  his  brain.  Hearing  this  they  quickly  resumed 
their  attack  upon  him.  In  vain  he  tore  up  great 
rocks  and  hurled  them  with  all  his  force  at  them. 
They  either  cleverly  jumped  on  one  side  or  sprang 
up  into  the  air  out  of  the  way. 

"Then,  watching  for  their  opportunity,  they 
waited  until  he  stooped  down,  and  when  he  was 
struggling  to  loosen  from  the  earth  a  great  rock  as 
big  as  a  house  Sesigizit  threw,  with  all  his  power, 
his  magic  rabbit  stick.  It  struck  the  giant  fair  on 
the  top  of  his  head  with  such  force  that  it  broke  off 
a  piece  of  his  skull.  The  next  instant  Ooseemeeid 

167 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

fired  one  of  his  arrows  so  accurately  that  it  pierced 
into  the  brain  through  the  spot  thus  left  exposed. 

"With  a  roar  of  rage  and  pain  the  great  monster 
fell,  rolled  down  into  the  deep  canyon,  and  died. 

"After  securing  his  big  flint  knife,  which  dropped 
from  his  belt,  the  boys  hurried  into  the  canyon  and 
gathered  a  lot  of  fine  wood  for  arrow  shafts  and 
returned  to  their  mother.  When  she  asked  them 
where  they  had  been  they  replied  that  they  had  been 
to  the  canyon,  and  that  they  had  killed  both  the 
mountain  lioness  and  the  great  giant. 

"At  first  she  could  hardly  believe  this,  but  as  they 
had  brought  the  paws  of  the  cubs  and  the  flint  knife 
of  the  great  giant,  why,  she  just  had  to  believe  it. 
Great  indeed  were  the  rejoicings  of  the  people  at 
being  thus  rid  of  these  creatures." 


168 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

Souwanas  Tells  of  the  Queer  Way  in  which  Nanahboozhoo 
Destroyed  Mooshekinnebik,  the  Last  of  the  Great  Monsters. 

NE  cold  day  Souwanas,  who  had  not  been 
seen  by  the  children  for  some  time — 
he  had  been  away  on  a  long  hunting 
excursion — quite   unexpectedly    walked 
into  the  mission  house  during  the  school 
hours  of  Sagastao  and  Minnehaha.  The 
news  of  his   coming  was  hailed  with 
delight  by  the  children,  and  it  required 
a  certain  amount  of  firmness  on  the  part  of 
the  heads  of  the  household  to  keep  them  at 
their  studies.     They  were,  however,  quickly 
pacified,  and  returned  with  diligence  to  their 
lessons,  when  informed  that  their  old  friend 
had  been  invited  to  stay  all  day  and  doubtless  would 
have  a  story  of  some  kind  for  them  when  their 
studies  were  all  over.  , 

The  venison  and  bear's  meat  which  he  had 
brought  were  quickly  purchased  at  a  price  that  well 
pleased  him.  Then  he  sat  down  for  a  rest  and  a 
smoke  in  the  kitchen.  Of  course  he  had  his  usual 
tiff  with  Mary,  the  nurse,  who  was  very  jealous  of 
him  because  he  had  so  won  the  love  and  confidence 
of  the  children.  Souwanas  was  greatly  amused  at 
her  jealousy  of  him,  especially  since  he  was  told  by 

169 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

one  of  the  Indian  maids  that  the  children  had  been 
overheard  gravely  debating  between  themselves 
which  was  the  better  story-teller,  Mary  or  Souwanas. 

When  peace  again  reigned  some  illustrated  vol 
umes  from  the  library  were  given  to  Souwanas  for 
his  inspection.  He  was  not  able  to  read  English, 
but  he  was  very  fond  of  looking  at  pictures. 

There  was  one  book  that  had  a  special  fascination 
for  him,  in  fact  when  he  first  examined  it,  and  had 
had  some  of  its  illustrations  explained  to  him,  it 
gave  this  superstitious  Indian  about  the  biggest 
fright  he  had  ever  received.  It  was  a  book  in  which 
were  pictured  and  described  many  of  the  great  ex 
tinct  monsters  of  the  old  times.  These  enormous 
hideous  creatures,  whose  bones  and  fossil  remains 
are  still  occasionally  to  be  found,  quite  alarmed  him. 
Yet  the  book  was  generally  about  the  first  one  he 
desired  to  see. 

On  this  present  visit,  however,  Souwanas,  while 
as  usual  eager  again  to  inspect  this  book,  was  ob 
served  to  look  at  it  in  a  very  different  spirit.  The 
explanation  came  out  later,  when  he  had  the  children 
around  him — indeed  almost  the  whole  household — 
listening  to  a  new  Nanahboozhoo  story  which  he 
had  secured  from  some  famous  old  Indian  whom  he 
had  met  while  far  away  on  his  long  hunting 
excursion. 

"Yes,  it  is  true,"  he  began,  "that  there  did  once 
live  on  this  earth,  both  in  the  land  and  in  the  water, 
great  animals  like  those  here  shown  in  this  book.  I 
have  been  to  the  wigwam  of  the  great  Shuniou  and 

170 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

from  him  I  have  learned  much  about  them,  as 
handed  down  in  the  tradition  of  our  forefathers. 
Great  and  terrible  were  they,  and  the  people  of  those 
times  lived  in  great  terror  of  them,  for  the  bows  and 
arrows  and  even  the  stone  war  clubs  of  the  strongest 
warriors  were  powerless  to  kill  or  even  dangerously 
wound  such  monsters.  It  was  well  for  the  inhabit 
ants  of  the  earth  in  those  days  that  these  great  mon 
sters  were  few  in  number  and  that  they  were  con 
stantly  fighting  among  themselves,  for  so  large  and 
terrible  were  they  that  only  animals  as  big  and  fierce 
of  other  kinds  could  battle  with  them. 

"But  there  was  one  great  monster  that  lived  in 
the  water,  and  as  he  had  no  enemies  big  enough  to 
attack  him  he  lived  on,  even  long  after  the  other 
great  animals  were  all  killed  off. 

"Shuniou  said  that  the  tradition  was  that  a  great 
rush  of  waters  caused  many  of  the  last  of  the  great 
monsters  that  had  tusks  of  ivory  to  be  carried  to 
the  far  Northland,  and  there,  as  the  terribly  cold 
winter  set  in,  they  were  all  frozen  to  death. 

"This  must  be  true,"  added  Souwanas,  "for  it 
was  not  many  years  ago  that  the  Hudson  Bay  Com 
pany  sent  their  men  there  to  get  this  ivory,  which 
they  intended  to  ship  to  England.  They  came  back 
with  word  that  some  of  the  dead  bodies  had  been 
seen  where  the  ice  broke  up.  But  this  great  mon 
ster  in  the  water,  as  I  have  said,  lived  on  after  the 
rest  were  all  supposed  to  have  died  off  or  been  killed. 
He  was  a  terrible  scourge  to  those  Indians  whose 
wigwams  were  on  the  shores  of  the  great  sea  in 

171 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

which  he  lived.  They  were  in  mortal  terror  when 
they  ventured  out  in  their  canoes  to  fish.  This  they 
had  to  do,  as  they  depended  almost  entirely  on  fish 
for  their  living,  and  there  were  times  when  the  fish 
left  the  shallow  waters  near  the  shore  and  went  out 
far  from  land.  There  the  Indians  had  to  follow  and 
catch  them  or  they  and  their  families  would  starve. 

* 'Happily  for  them,  sometimes  for  months  to 
gether  no  one  would  hear  or  see  anything  of  this 
great  sea  monster.  Then,  perhaps,  suddenly  he 
would  rise  up  right  under  a  canoe  in  which  were 
several  Indians, -whom  he  would  easily  catch  and 
swallow  one  by  one.  He  would  sometimes  rush 
after  a  herd  of  deer  that  had  gone  out  swimming  in 
the  waters.  He  would  catch  and  easily  swallow 
several  of  them." 

"Well,  I  should  think  that  the  big  horns  of  a 
moose  or  reindeer  would  give  him  some  trouble  to 
swallow,"  said  Sagastao. 

"He  was  so  large,"  said  Souwanas,  "that  the 
horns  or  body  of  the  largest  deer  did  not  seem  to 
bother  him  in  the  least  degree." 

"I  wonder  if  it  were  not  one  of  his  great  grand 
fathers  that  swallowed  Jonah,"  said  the  observant 
Minnehaha. 

"The  Indians  at  length  came  to  be  so  much  dis 
tressed  by  the  loss  of  so  many  of  their  number,  and 
by  their  inability  to  slay  the  monster,  that  they  re 
solved  to  ask  Nanahboozhoo  to  come  and  help  them 
if  he  possibly  could. 

"I  ought  to  have  told  you,"  said  Souwanas, 
172 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

"that  this  great  monster  was  called  by  the  Indians 
Mooshekinnebik. 

"Nanahboozhoo  at  once  responded  to  their  re 
quest,  for  he  was  very  angry  when  he  heard  how 
many  industrious  fishermen  had  been  swallowed 
by  this  creature.  He  was  doubly  angry  when  he 
returned  with  the  deputation  who  had  gone  for  him 
and  further  learned  that,  only  the  day  before,  Moo 
shekinnebik  had  been  mean  enough  to  come  near 
to  the  shore  and  catch  and  swallow  some  boys  and 
girls  who  had  been  out  swimming  that  warm  sum 
mer  day. 

"When  Nanahboozhoo  informed  Nokomis  of  the 
request  of  the  people  for  his  help  to  deliver  them 
from  the  long  hated  Mooshekinnebik  she  4 was  very 
much  frightened,  and  more  so  when  he  told  her  of 
the  strange  and  dangerous  plan  he  was  going  to 
adopt  to  carry  out  his  purpose.  It  was  this :  he  was 
going  to  allow  himself  to  be  swallowed  by  this  mon 
ster  who  had  already  destroyed  so  many  people." 

"O  how  dreadful!"  said  Minnehaha.  "We  will 
never  hear  any  more  nice  stories  about  Nanah 
boozhoo." 

"All  a  pack  of  lies;  there  never  were  any  such 
monsters,"  snapped  out  old  Mary,  who  could  not 
longer  conceal  her  jealousy  at  seeing  how  interested 
the  children  were  in  the  story. 

"Hold  on,  Mary;  not  so  fast,"  cried  Sagastao, 
taking  the  book  from  Souwanas  and  showing  the 
pictures  to  Mary. 

"There,  Sakehow,"  he  said,  using  his  favorite 
173 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

term  of  endearment,  "look  for  yourself  and  see  those 
lovely  creatures — some  of  them  quite  big  enough 
to  swallow  us  all  without  winking." 

But  Mary  was  stubborn,  as  well  as  jealous,  and 
would  not  give  in,  even  when  Kennedy,  the  favorite 
clog  driver,  who  was  present,  told  her  that  even  now 
there  were  some  of  the  great  tusks  and  bones  of 
animals  that  the  officers  called  mammoths  over  at 
the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  fort  ready  to  be  shipped 
to  England  next  summer.  She  was,  however, 
quickly  silenced  when  Sagastao  sat  down  beside  her 
and  throwing  his  head  into  her  lap  said,  very  coax- 
ingly : 

"Now,  Mary,  just  be  quiet  and  let  us  hear  Sou- 
wanas  tell  the  rest  of  the  story  of  what  Nanah- 
boozhoo  did  to  Mooshekinnebik." 

Peace  being  thus  restored,  Souwanas,  who  had 
been  much  amused  by  Mary's  ire,  resumed  his  story : 

"When  Nokomis  heard  her  grandson  describe 
how  he  was  going  to  let  the  monster  swallow  him 
she  resolved  to  come  and  pitch  her  tent  on  the  sea 
shore,  among  the  people  who  had  been  so  troubled, 
and  there  to  await  the  return  of  her  grandson,  if  he 
should  ever  come  back  from  such  a  perilous 
adventure. 

"Nanahboozhoo  asked  his  mother  for  some  magic 
singing  sticks,  and  also  for  a  very  sharp  knife. 
Then  he  made  for  himself  a  small  raft  of  logs  and, 
bidding  her  good-bye  for  a  short  time,  he  sprang  on 
it  and  was  soon  floating  out,  in  search  of  the 
dreaded  creature,  over  the  great  waters. 

174 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

"When  well  out  from  the  shore  he  began  to  make 
music  with  his  magic  sticks  and  to  sing  a  defiant 
song: 

"  'Ho,  ho !  great  fish  down  in  the  sea, 
Come,  if  you  dare,  and  swallow  me. 
My  brothers  all  you're  fond  of  eating, 
'Tis  time  some  one  gave  you  a  beating. 
He,  he!  Hi,  hi!  Ho,  ho!  Ho,  ho! 

"  'You  see  I  am  not  far  away, 

So  come  and  taste  me  while  you  may ; 
Yet  not  afraid  am  I,  no,  no! 
So  hurry  up,  old  fish.    Ho,  ho ! 
He,  he!  Hi,  hi!  Ho,  ho!  Ho,  ho!' 

"Nanahboozhoo  sang  this  brave  song  over  and 
over,  to  the  weird  harmony  of  his  magic  music 
sticks,  until  he  reached  the  place  where  the  great 
fish  was  resting. 

"When  the  great  monster  Mooshekinnebik  heard 
the  voice  of  Nanahboozhoo  he  came  up  to  the  sur 
face  of  the  water  to  find  out  who  was  making  all 
that  music  and  shouting  out  such  defiant  words. 

"When  he  saw  that  it  was  only  one  young  man 
on  a  raft  of  dry  logs,  he  ordered  one  of  his  children 
to  go  and  knock  the  raft  to  pieces  and  swallow  that 
noisy  fellow.  But  this  was  not  what  Nanahboozhoo 
wanted,  and  so  he  shouted  out : 

"  1  want  the  old  father  fish  to  eat  me.' 

"This  made  old  Mooshekinnebik  very  angry,  and 
so,  open  mouthed,  he  rushed  furiously  at  Nanah- 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

boozhoo  who,  when  the  great  monster  was  close 
enough,  took  a  leap  into  the  open  mouth  and  was 
immediately  swallowed  up. 

"For  a  short  time  after  being  swallowed  Nanah- 
boozhoo  was  unconscious,  but  he  soon  recovered 
himself  and  was  able  to  look  around  and  see  the 
queer  prison  in  which  he  was  now  confined.  It  was 
fortunate  for  him  that  he  had  eyes  like  a  cat,  and 
so  could  see  as  well  in  the  dark  as  in  the  light.  He 
found  that  he  was  not  the  only  inmate  of  this  queer 
prison ;  there  were  a  lot  of  creatures  whom  he  called 
his  brothers — the  bear,  the  deer,  the  fox,  the  beaver 
and  even  the  squirrel.  Nanahboozhoo  inquired  of 
them  and  they  told  him  how  they  had  been  captured 
and  the  length  of  time  they  had  been  in  that  horrid 
place.  They  also  informed  him  that  many  others 
who  had  been  captured  were  now  dead.  Nanah 
boozhoo  found  that  they  were  quite  hopeless,  and 
looked  forward  to  nothing  but  death.  However 
he  called  them  around  him  and  informed  them  that 
he  had  willingly  come  among  them  for  the  purpose 
of  affording  a  speedy  deliverance. 

"This  was  indeed  good  news.  Then  he  explained 
to  them  the  plan  he  had  in  his  mind,  and  said  that 
it  was  necessary  for  them  to  kick  up  a  rumpus  in 
the  interior  of  this  monster,  that  they  would  thus 
make  him  so  very  sick  that  he  would  have  to  go  near 
to  land,  and  when  they  should  .have  him  there  he 
thought  he  had  another  plan  that  would  enable  them 
all  to  escape. 

"They  all  agreed  to  do  anything  they  could  to 
176 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

help  on  his  plans,  so  Nanahboozhoo  took  out  his 
magic  singing  sticks  and  began  to  play  and  sing. 

"At  once  the  bear,  the  deer,  the  fox,  the  beaver, 
and  indeed  all  of  the  creatures  that  were  still  alive, 
caught  up  the  lively  tune,  and  such  a  dancing  and 
jumping  and  flying  around  was  hardly  ever  seen 
before. 

"This  internal  commotion  very  much  disturbed 
Mooshekinnebik.  He  could  not  make  out  what  was 
the  matter.  He  shook  himself  thoroughly,  but  that 
did  no  good;  then  he  darted  off  through  the  water 
at  a  great  rate,  but  this  also  was  of  no  use.  Then 
he  rolled  over  and  over  and  over  in  the  water.  This 
of  course  stopped  the  dancing  and  hubbub  inside  for 
a  time,  but  as  the  walls  of  the  prison  were  soft,  also 
the  floor  and  ceiling,  nobody  was  hurt,  and  so  the 
instant  it  ceased  they  were  up  and  at  it  again,  harder 
than  ever.  Mooshekinnebik  never  had  such  a  turn 
in  his  life.  He  did  not  know  what  to  do.  Still 
Nanahboozhoo  kept  singing  louder  and  louder, 
while  the  dancers  kept  up  their  wild  antics  around 
him. 

"At  length  Nanahboozhoo  decided  that  the  mon 
ster  was  about  enough  frightened  for  him  to  do 
something  else,  and  so  he  drew  out  his  sharp  knife 
and  gave  Mooshekinnebik  a  good  stab  near  his 
heart. 

"This  threw  him  into  convulsions  and  added  to 
his  terror,  and  he  began  swimming  toward  the 
shore.  When  Nanahboozhoo  knew  this  he  kept 
stabbing  him  more  and  more,  until  at  length  his 

177 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

body  was  heard  to  scrape  on  the  shallow  sandy 
ground.  At  this  Nanahboozhoo  with  a  mighty 
effort  plunged  his  knife  with  all  his  power  deep  into 
the  monster's  heart. 

"The  instant  he  did  this  Mooshekinnebik  was 
thrown  into  a  number  of  mighty  convulsions,  and 
in  one  of  them,  with  one  tremendous  effort,  he  fairly 
threw  himself  out  of  the  water  on  the  shore,  and 
there  he  died. 

"So  great  and  terrible  had  been  these  dying  con 
vulsions  that  all  the  creatures  inside,  and  even  Na 
nahboozhoo  himself,  had  become  unconscious  from 
being  so  knocked  about. 

"How  long  they  remained  so  they  did  not  know. 
Nanahboozhoo  was  the  first  to  regain  his  senses,  and 
he  was  indeed  very  sorry  to  see  that  all  of  his  com 
rades  were  still  unconscious.  He  had  some  difficulty 
in  getting  out  from  under  the  bodies  of  his  com 
rades,  who  were  piled  up  on  him.  He  was  glad  that 
the  monster  was  dead,  but  he  was  uncertain  whether 
they  were  on  the  shore  or  at  the  bottom  of  the 
water.  So  he  speedily  determined  to  find  out.  He 
climbed  up  over  the  bodies  of  his  comrades  to  the 
place  that  he  thought  was  the  thinnest,  and  there, 
with  his  keen  knife,  he  began  cutting  through  the 
roof  of  this  queer  prison. 

"To  his  great  delight  he  was  soon  able  to  see  the 
sunshine  coming  through.  When  he  had  cut  a  hole 
big  enough  to  let  in  some  air  and  sunshine  he  took 
up  his  magic  singing  sticks  and  began  singing,  for 
the  purpose  of  reviving  all  those  imprisoned  with 

178 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

him.     His  song  was  not  much  to  us,  but  it  was  a 
great  deal  to  those  shut  up  in  such  a  prison.    It  was : 

"  'Kesik-in-na-win, 
Kesik-in-na-win.' 
(I  seethe  sky, 
I  see  the  sky.) 

"As  Nanahboozhoo  continued  to  sing  this  over 
and  over,  one  after  another  his  brothers  sneezed  and 
opened  their  eyes.  They  were  indeed  a  happy  lot  at 
the  prospect  of  deliverance. 

"When  Nanahboozhoo  saw  that  they  were  all  now 
recovered  he  again  set  to  work  with  his  knife,  and 
it  was  not  long  before  he  had  a  hole  large  enough  to 
permit  all  of  the  imprisoned  creatures  to  make  their 
escape. 

"The  news  soon  spread,  and  it  was  not  long  be 
fore  Nokomis,  with  others,  came  to  see  the  huge 
dead  monster,  and  there  were  great  rejoicings. 

"And  this,"  added  Souwanas,  "is  the  tradition, 
as  told  by  Shuniou,  of  how  Nanahboozhoo  destroyed 
Mooshekinnebik." 

"What  became  of  the  little  monsters?"  asked 
Minnehaha. 

"The  Indians/'  replied  Souwanas,  "under  the 
leadership  of  Nanahboozhoo  made  such  a  war  upon 
them  that  they  were  soon  annihilated." 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

Welcome  Springtime  in  the  Northland— How  Nanah- 
boozhoo  Killed  the  Great  White  Sea  Lion,  the  Chief  of  the 
Magicians— The  Revenge— The  Flood— Escape  of  Nanah- 
boozhoo  and  the  Animals  on  the  Raft — The  Creation  of  a 
New  World. 

HE  coming  of  the  pleasant  spring 
time  was  hailed  with  great  delight. 
Seven  or  eight  months  were  found  to 
be  a  very  long  spell  of  cold  winter 
weather,  and  so  when  with  a  rapidity 
unknown  in  more  Southern  climates 
the  winter  broke  up,  and  the  welcome  warm  weather 
made  its  appearance,  everybody  seemed  to  feel  its 
genial  influence. 

The  first  little  wild  flowers  were  looked  for  with 
intense  interest,  and  great  indeed  was  the  joy  of  the 
children  when  some  were  found.  The  sweet  singing 
birds  that  in  the  previous  autumn,  on  the  first  signs 
of  the  coming  down  from  the  colder  North  of  the 
Frost  King,  had  flitted  away  to  the  summer  South 
land  were  now  returning  in  multitudes.  The  air 
was  full  of  their  melody,  and  as  scores  of  them, 
fearless  and  trustful,  made  themselves  at  home  in 
the  bird  resorts  around  Wahkiegum,  great  indeed 
was  the  children's  delight  as  they  welcomed  them 
back  to  their  haunts  in  the  North. 

180 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

And  really  it  did  seem  as  though  the  birds  were 
glad  to  be  there  again,  for  it  is  only  in  the  North 
that  these  birds  sing  their  sweet  love  songs  to  each 
other  and  build  their  nests  and  hatch  out  their  little 
broods. 

The  Whisky  Jacks,  that  had  been  croaking  out 
their  hoarse  cries  all  winter,  seemed  to  get  sulky  and 
vexed  that  they  were  now  so  little  admired,  and  so 
they  flitted  away  farther  north  and  buried  them 
selves  in  the  interior  of  the  deepest  forests. 

In  the  joyousness  of  those  happy  days  up  in  those 
high  latitudes,  when  the  changes  of  every  twenty- 
four  hours  can  easily  be  noticed,  Sagastao  and  Min- 
nehaha  for  a  time  troubled  neither  Souwanas  nor 
Mary  for  Indian  legends  or  stories.  There  was  in 
the  rapid  melting  of  the  snow,  the  breaking  up  of 
the  immense  ice  fields  on  the  lake,  the  appearance 
of  the  land,  and  then  the  grass  and  flowers,  and  the 
planting  of  seeds  in  their  little  gardens,  enough  to 
keep  them  busy  and  happy. 

But  even  all  these  things  at  length  lost  their  in 
terest.  The  flights  of  the  wild  geese,  swans,  and 
ducks  had  all  ceased.  They,  with  many  other  kinds 
of  migrating  birds,  were  busy  nesting.  The  sweet 
songsters  around  the  home  were  everyday  compan 
ions,  and,  while  the  children  loved  them  as  much  as 
ever,  the  excitement  of  their  coming  had  died  away. 
So  when  one  day  they  saw  Souwanas  coming  over 
the  now  sparkling  waters  in  his  canoe  they  were  de 
lighted  to  welcome  him.  As  usual,  when  he  reached 
the  shore  the  contents  of  his  canoe  were  examined 

181 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

speedily.  There  the  children  found  a  couple  of 
beavers  that  had  but  lately  been  trapped,  and  a  dozen 
or  more  muskrats  that  Souwanas  had  speared  in  the 
marshes.  These  animals  were  the  result  of  one 
night's  hunting,  and  now  Souwanas  was  on  his  way 
home  to  have  them  skinned  and  the  pelts  prepared 
for  sale  to  the  fur  traders. 

The  children's  curiosity  was  much  aroused  by  the 
sight  of  the  beavers  and  muskrats,  and  they  ques 
tioned  the  old  man  about  them.  The  queer,  broad, 
scaly  tail  of  the  beavers  much  interested  them,  and 
drew  from  Souwanas  an  interesting  account  of  the 
various  purposes  for  which  the  clever,  industrious 
beavers  use  this  apparently  awkward  appendage. 

"Do  you  know  any  Nanahboozhoo  stories  in 
which  he  tells  anything  about  beavers  or  muskrats  ?" 
asked  Sagastao. 

"Yes,  indeed,"  replied  Souwanas;  "in  nearly  all 
the  stories  that  are  told  about  the  forming  of  the 
new  land  after  the  great  flood  both  the  beaver  and 
the  muskrat  are  mentioned,  as  well  as  the  other 
animals." 

"Tell  us  one  of  the  stories,"  urged  little 
Minnehaha. 

The  arrival  of  some  other  canoes  at  this  point  in 
terrupted  the  conversation.  The  newcomers  were 
on  their  way  to  the  wigwam  of  Souwanas,  who  was 
their  chief.  He  was  about  to  go  on  with  them,  but 
when  he  saw  the  look  of  disappointment  on  the  faces 
of  the  children  he,  with  his  usual  thoughtful  kind 
ness,  transferred  the  two  beavers  and  the  muskrats 

182 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

from  his  own  canoe  to  one  of  the  late  arrivals.  Then 
telling  the  people  to  give  them  to  his  wife,  to  have 
them  all  cooked  and  ready  for  dinner,  by  which  time 
he  would  join  them,  he  sent  the  people  on  their  way. 
Having  lighted  his  calumet,  with  the  children  seated 
near  him,  he  began : 

"Nanahboozhoo's  life  commenced  long  before  the 
great  flood  of  waters  that  covered  the  earth,  about 
which  all  of  our  tribes  have  heard  something.  He 
had  his  own  wigwam  and  furnished  it  with  every 
thing  he  wanted.  One  day  when  walking  on  the 
shore  of  a  great  river  he  saw  some  sea  lions  lying 
on  the  sandy  beach,  basking  in  the  sun.  These  ani 
mals,  like  the  beaver,  could  live  as  well  in  the  water 
as  on  the  land.  As  he  closely  watched  them  from  a 
distance,  and  saw  the  rich,  shiny  skins,  he  thought 
what  a  nice  tobacco  pouch  could  be  made  out  of  one 
of  them.  When  Nanahboozhoo  once  set  his  heart 
on  anything  he  at  once  began  to  work  hard  to  secure 
it.  He  tried  various  plans  to  capture  one  of  these 
sea-lions,  but  none  of  them  succeeded.  They  were 
too  clever  to  be  caught  as  other  animals  are,  and  he 
saw  that  he  would  have  to  adopt  some  unusual 
method.  He  decided  that  he  would  go  down  very 
early  to  the  spot  on  the  bank  of  the  river  where  they 
were  in  the  habit  of  sunning  themselves  and  disguise 
himself  as  an  old  stump  of  a  tree,  then,  when  they 
came  out  and  were  enjoying  the  sunshine,  he  would 
shoot  the  fine  old  white  one  with  the  beautiful  glossy 
skin  that  he  had  so  much  admired.  As  on  other 
days  the  lions  came,  and  when  they  saw  this  stump 

183 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

the  white  lion,  which  was  a  kind  of  king  among 
them,  said: 

"  1  never  saw  that  big  stump  before.  I  think  it 
must  be  Nanahboozhoo.' 

"Another  one  said  he  thought  the  same  thing. 

"Others  only  laughed,  and  said,  'It  is  only  an 
old  pine  stump/ 

"However,  as  a  number  of  them  were  suspicious, 
it  was  decided  to  go  up  and  shake  it  and  see  if  it 
would  move,  and  thus  really  find  out.  They  went 
to  it,  and  three  of  them  together  used  their  greatest 
efforts  to  move  it. 

"Nanahboozhoo  had  to  make  one  of  the  hardest 
efforts  of  his  life  to  hold  firm.  However,  he  suc 
ceeded,  and  so  the  lions  only  said: 

"  'It  really  is  a  stump  of  a  tree,  but  it  is  very 
strange  we  did  not  notice  it  before.'  Then  they 
rolled  about  on  the  warm  sand  in  the  sunshine  until 
one  after  another  fell  asleep. 

"Nanahboozhoo  now  noiselessly  and  quickly 
turned  himself  into  a  young  hunter,  then  taking  up 
his  bow  and  arrow  he  shot  the  white  lion.  His 
arrow  stuck  fast  in  his  body  and  badly  wounded 
him,  but  did  not  kill  him.  At  once  the  lions  all 
plunged  into  the  river  and  disappeared.  Nanah 
boozhoo  was  sorry  that  he  did  not  get  the  lion's  skin, 
indeed  he  was  greatly  vexed  and  annoyed  to  have 
to  return  to  his  wigwam  without  it.  A  day  or  two 
after,  as  he  was  walking  in  the  woods,  he  met  with 
a  very  old  woman.  She  had  a  bundle  of  slippery 
elm  bark,  out  of  which  poultices  were  made  by  the 

184 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

Indians  for  wounds  and  bruises,  and  also  some  roots 
for  medicine. 

"  Where  are  you  going,  nookoom  (grand 
mother),  and  what  are  you  going  to  do  with  the 
bark  and  roots  ?' 

"  'O/  said  she,  'you  cannot  imagine  what  trouble 
we  are  in,  for  Nanahboozhoo  has  shot  and  badly 
wounded  one  of  our  chiefs,  and  great  efforts  are 
going  to  be  made  to  catch  and  kill  him/ 

"She  also  told  him  that  she  had  been  honored  in 
being  sent  for  to  come  and  use  all  of  her  healing 
arts  to  try  and  restore  the  wounded  chief  to  health 
again,  and  that  now  she  was  on  her  way  to  his  abode 
to  poultice  him  with  the  slippery  elm  bark,  and  to 
give  him  medicine,  made  by  boiling  the  roots,  to 
allay  the  great  fever  from  which  he  was  suffering. 

"Nanahboozhoo  thus  discovered  that  these  lions, 
as  he  had  supposed  them  to  be,  were  wicked  magi 
cians  who  had  been  doing  a  great  deal  of  harm,  and 
who  when  they  chose  to  do  so  could  change  them 
selves  into  the  form  of  lions  and  live  either  under 
the  water  or  on  land,  as  best  suited  them,  to  escape 
from  being  killed  by  those  whom  they  had  injured. 
As  the  old  woman  was  very  talkative,  Nanahbooz 
hoo  soon  obtained  from  her  all  the  information  he 
desired.  Among  other  things  she  told  him  that 
sometimes  people  came  to  her  for  bad  medicines,  to 
give  to  persons  with  whom  they  had  quarreled,  and 
in  this  way  they  would  kill  them  with  the  poisons 
which  she  made  out  of  toadstools  and  other  deadly 
things. 

185 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

"Hearing  these  dreadful  facts  from  her  own  lips 
Nanahboozhoo  resolved  to  kill  her,  but  first  he  had 
her  tell  him  where  the  wounded  chief's  abode  was, 
and  all  about  what  was  expected  of  her  when  she 
arrived  there.  He  then  speedily  tomahawked  her, 
and  clothing  himself  in  her  garments  he  made  him 
self  look  exactly  like  her,  after  which  he  took  up 
her  bundle  of  bark  and  roots  and  went  to  the  dwell 
ing  of  the  chiefs. 

"There  he  found  quite  a  crowd  assembled,  but  all 
were  in  confusion  and  excitement  on  account  of  the 
wounded  chief.  When  they  saw,  as  they  thought, 
the  old  woman  coming,  whom  they  were  eagerly 
expecting,  they  made  way  for  her.  Nanahboozhoo 
went  straight  to  the  place  where  the  wounded 
chief  lay. 

"He  was  surprised  to  see  that  the  arrow  which 
he  had  shot  was  still  sticking  in  his  side.  He  made 
a  great  ado  about  preparing  the  poultices  and  medi 
cine,  and  set  everybody  around  him  doing  some 
thing  to  help  carry  out  his  plans.  Then  when  all 
were  hurrying,  and  none  looking  at  him,  Nanah 
boozhoo  pushed  the  arrow  with  such  force  into  the 
body  of  the  chief  that  it  killed  him  instantly.  Then 
with  a  shout  of  triumph  he  made  his  escape. 

"There  was,  of  course,  great  excitement  among 
the  people.  They  at  once  called  a  council  and  con 
sulted  what  they  should  do  to  destroy  Nanahbooz 
hoo.  They  were,  as  I  have  told  you,  magicians,  and 
had  power  to  raise  the  waters,  and  so  they  resolved 
to  drown  him.  They  accordingly  called  on  the 

186 


"He  ran  away  west,  to  the  great  mountains." 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES. 

waters  to  rise  and  rush  over  the  plains  and  forests 
in  the  direction  in  which  he  lived.  Nanahboozhoo 
had  traveled  with  great  speed  back  to  his  wigwam, 
but  hardly  had  he  reached  it  ere  he  heard  the  roar  of 
the  floods  of  water  that  were  coming  to  overwhelm 
him.  He  saw  his  great  danger  and  he  ran  away 
west,  to  the  great  mountains;  but  the  floods  of 
water  continued  rising  and  drove  him  up  higher  and 
higher.  When  he  saw  that  he  was  nearing  the 
highest  peak  he  began  to  think  what  he  must  do 
next.  Around  him  in  the  raging  waters  were  quan 
tities  of  logs  and  trees,  and  among  them,  or  on  the 
now  small  peak  of  land,  were  numbers  of  various 
animals. 

"With  all  his  powers  he  set  to  work  and  it  was 
not  very  long  ere  he  had  a  large  raft  made  out  of 
the  floating  logs.  As  the  last  spot  of  land  was  now 
being  overwhelmed  by  the  flood,  and  he  pitied  the 
animals  that  were  swimming  about,  he  took  them  on 
the  raft  with  him.  As  Nanahboozhoo  knew  all  the 
animals  and  their  languages  he  held  a  council  on 
the  raft.  He  told  them  that  if  he  could  get  even 
a  very  little  of  the  old  world  that  was  drowned  he 
could  make  a  new  world  for  them  all.  He  first 
asked  the  otter  if  he  would  try,  and  see  if  he  could 
dive  down  and  bring  up  a  little  portion  of  the  earth. 
The  otter  at  once  made  the  attempt,  but  after  a  while 
he  came  up  to  the  surface  apparently  quite  dead. 
Nanahboozhoo  reached  out  and  lifted  him  in  and 
placed  him  in  a  sunny  spot  on  the  raft.  Then  the 
beaver  tried.  He  took  a  great  header  and  down  he 

187 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES. 

dived,  resolved  to  succeed  if  possible,  but  after  a 
time  even  he  came  up  apparently  as  lifeless  as  the 
otter.  Nanahboozhoo  lifted  his  body  up  out  of  the 
water  and  laid  it  in  the  sun  by  the  side  of  the  otter. 
The  muskrat  next  volunteered  to  try  what  he  could 
do,  so  down  he  dived  and,  after  a  much  longer  time 
than  the  others  had  been  down,  he  too  floated  up 
senseless  and  cold.  Nanahboozhoo  took  him  up, 
and  as  he  did  so  he  noticed  that  there  was  earth  in 
his  mouth  and  on  his  paws.  He  carefully  collected 
this  in  his  hand,  and  then  placed  the  body  of  the 
muskrat  beside  the  otter  and  the  beaver.  He  then 
blew  upon  the  earth  and  thus  made  it  dry  and  porous, 
so  that  when  it  was  placed  in  the  water  it  would 
not  sink  but  float.  He  then  put  a  lively  little  mouse 
upon  it,  which  by  running  round  and  round  upon 
the  earth  made  it  grow  larger  and  larger.  Nanah 
boozhoo  then  put  a  squirrel  upon  it  for  the  same 
object.  Then  the  marten  and  mink — for  the  new 
earth  was  now  so  extended  that  it  could  hold  up 
these  light  animals. 

"For  a  time  Nanahboozhoo  had  to  guard 
the  now  rapidly  growing  young  world  from 
the  larger  animals  with  a  stick,  for  fear 
they  would  sink  it.  They  were  all  very 
tired  of  having  to  remain  huddled  together 
so  long  on  the  raft,  and  were  eager  to  follow  the 
smaller  creatures  that  seemed  so  happy  on  the  new 
earth,  even  if  it  were  not  very  large  as  yet.  As 
there  was  much  to  be  done  to  fit  this  new  world  up 
for  them  to  dwell  upon,  everyone  had  to  do  what  he 

188 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

could.  The  birds  were  sent  to  fly  over  the  water 
to  pick  up  branches  and  seeds. 

"By  and  by  Nanahboozhoo  decided  that  the  earth, 
which  had  now  grown  beyond  the  reach  of  his  eyes, 
was  large  enough,  and  so  he  revived  the  otter,  the 
beaver  and  the  muskrat,  and  with  them  and  all  the 
other  animals  around  him  he  took  possession  of  the 
new  world. 

"In  order  to  ascertain  the  size  of  the  world  he 
sent  a  wolf  to  run  to  the  end  of  it  and  then  to  re 
turn  at  once  to  him.  The  wolf  easily  made  the 
journey  in  one  day.  Nanahboozhoo  then  kept  him 
with  him  for  some  time,  and  again  sent  him  off. 
The  second  journey  took  him  five  days,  the  third 
ten,  the  fourth  a  month,  then  he  was  gone  a  year 
and  then  five  years.  Thus  it  went  on,  until  at  length 
Nanahboozhoo  started  off  a  young  wolf  just  able  to 
run  on  the  long  journey.  This  one  died  of  old  age 
ere  he  had  completed  the  trip.  Nanahboozhoo  then 
said  that  the  world  was  large  enough,  and  com 
manded  it  to  cease  from  growing. 


189 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

Among  the  Briers  and  Wild  Roses — Why  the  Roses  have 
Thorns— Why  the  Wild  Rabbits  are  White  in  Winter. 

NE  day  as  the  children  were  out  in  the  clear 
ings  back  of  their  home,  gathering  some 
of  the  wild  strawberries  that  grew  there 
and  also  some  of  the  wildflowers  that 
bloomed  during  the  short  brilliant  sum 
mer,  they  were  delighted  to  see  Sou- 
wanas  coming  along  the  road  with  his 
gun  on  his  shoulder  and  some  ducks 
and  rabbits  in  his  hand. 

Very   cordial   were   their   greetings,    but 
soon  the  quick  eyes  of  the  kindly  Indian  no 
ticed    that    there    were    several    long    red 
scratches   and   even   some  drops   of  partly 
dried  blood  on  the  hands  of  his  little  friends. 
It  was  hardly  necessary  for  him  to  ask  the  cause  of 
the  wounds,  as  the  bunches  of  sweet  briers  and  wild 
roses,  with  their  sharp  needle-like  thorns,  in  the 
happy  children's  hands  told  the  tale. 

Putting  down  his  gun  and  game,  Souwanas 
quickly  gathered  some  of  the  sweet  fragrant  grass 
which  is  there  so  abundant,  and  skillfully  twisting 
it  into,  little  coils  he  wound  one  around  each  of  the 
bunches  of  flowers  which  the  children  had  gathered, 
and  which  they  were  still  having  trouble  to  hold 
on  account  of  the  thorns. 

190 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

The  bouquets  thus  arranged  could  now  be  car 
ried  without  inflicting  any  more  wounds  or  pain. 
Amid  their  chat  and  laughter,  for  these  white  chil 
dren  were  taught,  like  Indian  children,  not  to  be 
afraid  of  a  few  scratches  or  a  little  pain,  Minnehaha, 
who  was  industriously  wiping  the  blood  from  some 
wounds  on  her  little  white  hands  with  her  apron, 
said: 

"How  is  it,  Souwanas,  that  all  these  rosebushes 
and  briers  have  such  sharp  thorns  on  them?" 

"I  suppose  Mary  would  say  that  Nanahboozhoo, 
the  rascal,  had  something  to  do  with  it,"  put  in 
Sagastao. 

At  this  reference  to  Mary  there  was  a  mischievous 
twinkle  in  the  eyes  of  the  old  Indian. 

"Yes,"  he  replied,  "Nanahboozhoo  had  lots  to  do 
with  it,  and  yet  when  you  hear  the  story  you  will 
see  that  he  was  not  such  a  rascal  at  the  time  he  did 
it  as  Mary  would  make  out,  but  almost  as  good  as 
her  pet,  Wakonda,  who  gave  the  bees  their  stings." 

"O  tell  us  all  about  it  now,"  said  Minnehaha. 
"We  have  this  forenoon  as  a  half  holiday,  and  papa 
is  to  join  us  in  about  an  hour  for  a  walk  in  the 
woods." 

The  kind-hearted  old  Indian  had  been  pleased 
with  the  plucky  way  in  which  the  children  had 
slighted  their  wounded  hands,  and  before  he  began 
his  story  he  acted  the  part  of  the  skillful  physician. 
He  found  some  soft  juicy  leaves  which  he  crushed 
and  spread  on  the  ugly  red  scratches.  The  effect 
was  magical,  and  the  children  who  had  so  bravely 

191 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

treated  their  wounds  with  indifference  gratefully 
acknowledged  the  sudden  cessation  of  the  smart. 

Selecting  a  pretty  spot  under  a  clump  of  balsam 
trees,  where  some  boulder-like  stones  afforded  them 
comfortable  seats,  the  children  cuddled  down  with 
their  old  friend,  to  hear  how  the  roses  got  their 
thorns. 

"Long  ago  the  roses  were  the  most  abundant  of 
flowers,  but  they  grew  on  bushes  that  were  smooth 
and  fragrant,  and  such  delicious  eating  that  all  the 
animals  that  eat  grass  or  browse  were  constantly 
seeking  for  and  devouring  not  only  the  rose  flowers 
but  also  the  bushes  on  which  they  grew.  The  result 
was  that  the  roses  of  all  kinds  were  in  danger  of 
being  exterminated.  In  those  days  trees  and  flowers 
and  other  things  had  greater  powers  of  thinking  and 
acting  than  they  have  now,  and  so  the  roses  of  differ 
ent  kinds  met  in  council  to  decide  what  could  be 
done  to  preserve  those  of  them  that  were  still  left 
in  existence.  It  was  decided  that  a  deputation  of 
them  should  be  sent  to  Nanahboozhoo  to  implore 
his  assistance. 

"He  is  such  an  eccentric  fellow,  and  assumes  so 
many  disguises,  that  they  had  a  good  deal  of  diffi 
culty  in  finding  him.  They  traveled  long  distances, 
and  inquired  of  the  various  wild  animals  they  met 
and  even  consulted  the  trees  and  hills.  At  length 
they  were  informed  that  he  was  now  living  in  a 
valley  among  the  mountains  and  experimenting  as 
a  gardener.  They  hurried  away  as  fast  as  the  fierce 
wind  which  they  had  hired  to  carry  them  could  blow 

192 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

them  along.  At  first  when  they  reached  his  abode 
they  were  very  much  frightened,  as  it  was  easy  to 
observe  from  the  loud  angry  tones  in  which  Nanah- 
boozhoo,  although  afar  off,  was  speaking,  that  he 
was  in  a  great  rage.  However,  they  had  come  too 
far  to  be  easily  discouraged.  They  quietly  drew 
near,  and  hiding  behind  some  dense  balsam  trees 
they  carefully  listened  to  find  out  the  cause  of  his 
anger.  Fortunately,  they  could  not  have  come  at  a 
better  time  for  themselves,  for  it  seems  that  Nanah- 
boozhoo  had  become  very  much  interested  in  his 
work  as  a  gardener.  All  the  things  he  had  planted 
had  grown  so  well  that  in  order  to  protect  them  from 
prowling  wild  animals  he  had  set  all  around  the 
garden  a  fine  hedge  of  rosebushes.  So  many  were 
required  that  Nanahboozhoo  had  been  obliged  to 
transplant  bushes  from  a  great  distance  around,  for 
they  did  not  grow  so  abundantly  as  formerly. 

'The  morning  of  the  very  day  on  which  the  depu 
tation  of  the  rosebushes  arrived  Nanahboozhoo  had 
returned  from  one  of  his  short  adventures.  Fancy 
his  indignation  at  finding  that  in  his  absence  all 
sorts  of  amimals,  from  the  rabbit  to  the  mountain 
elk,  had  visited  his  abode,  and  had  not  only  com 
pletely  eaten  that  lovely  hedge  of  rosebushes,  but 
had  also  greatly  injured  the  beautiful  garden,  of 
which  he  was  so  proud ! 

"When  the  deputation  of  roses  understood  the 
cause  of  his  wrath  they  at  once  left  their  hiding 
places  and,  aided  by  a  sudden  puff  of  wind,  came 
before  Nanahboozhoo.  The  sight  of  them  .excited 

J93 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

his  curiosity,  as  it  had  seemed  to  him  that  every  rose 
bush  had  been  destroyed.  Before  he  could  say  a 
word,  however,  the  rosebushes,  who  were  then  able 
to  talk,  at  once  presented  their  petition  and  pleaded 
for  his  powerful  assistance  to  save  them  from  being 
exterminated  by  their  enemies. 

"Nanahboozhoo  listened  to  their  petition,  and 
after  some  consultation  with  the  rose  bushes  it  was 
decided  to  cover  the  stocks  and  branches,  up  to  the 
very  beautiful  flowers,  with  small  thorn-like  prickles, 
so  that  every  animal  henceforth  would  be  afraid  to 
either  devour  or  closely  approach  them,  as  they  had 
been  accustomed  to  do  in  the  past.  With  this  pro 
tection  granted  them  they  were  more  than  pleased, 
and  so  it  now  happens  that  roses  of  many  kinds  still 
exist  in  various  parts  of  the  world." 

'Thank  you  very  much  for  that  story,"  said  Min- 
nehaha.  "Even  if  Nanahboozhoo  did  put  prickles 
on  the  rosebushes  he  was  not  a  rascal,  for  we  would 
not  have  had  any  roses  at  all  but  for  what  he  did." 

For  a  wonder,  Sagastao  was  silent  for  a  time; 
but  at  length  he  found  something  to  say,  and  his 
words  were  a  bit  of  a  confession  and  promise  of 
amendment : 

"Now  that  I  know  why  it  is  that  the  prickles  are 
on  the  wild  roses  I'll  not  get  mad  even  if  my  fingers 
bleed  when  I  am  gathering  a  bouquet  for  mother." 

At  this  moment  the  two  favorite  dogs,  Jack  and 
Cuffy,  came  bounding  up.  By  this  the  children 
knew  that  their  father  was  not  far  behind,  and  they 
were  not  disappointed.  At  first  he  looked  anxious 

194 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

when  he  saw  the  little  hands  wrapped  up  in  green 
leaves,  but  as  with  merry  laughs  they  told  him  what 
the  leaves  were  for  everything  was  bright  again. 

Souwanas  was  greeted  very  cordially,  as  usual, 
and  assured  that  at  the  mission  house  he  would  find 
in  the  mistress  a  willing  purchaser  of  his  ducks  and 
rabbits.  The  children  were  always  interested  in  the 
game,  although  Minnehaha  strongly  declared  that  it 
was  a  pity  to  kill  the  pretty  creatures.  Souwanas 
and  their  father  were  chatting  together  while  the 
children  were  turning  the  ducks  and  rabbits  over. 

"See  what  red  eyes  some  of  the  ducks  have,"  said 
Sagastao.  "They  look  as  though  they  had  been 
crying." 

"Guess  you  would  have  cried  too,"  rather  indig 
nantly  replied  Minnehaha,  "if  you  had  been  shot  as 
they  were." 

"Huh!"  he  replied  with  a  tinge  of  contempt, 
"how  could  they  cry  after  being  shot?  I  don't  be 
lieve  that  is  it  at  all.  And,  look  here,  Minnehaha, 
I  am  going  also  to  ask  why  it  is  that,  while  all  the 
rabbits  were  so  white  in  winter,  they  are  all  now  so 
brown  in  summer." 

Quickly  the  resolve  was  carried  out,  and  so,  while 
Minnehaha  was  telling  her  father  what  a  beautiful 
story  they  had  heard  about  the  roses,  Sagastao,  with 
his  hand  on  the  shoulder  of  the  old  Indian,  who  was 
seated  on  a  rock,  was  eagerly  firing  at  him  his 
double-barreled  question:  "Why  have  some  ducks 
such  red  eyes,  and  why  are  the  rabbits  white  in  win 
ter  and  brown  in  summer?" 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

"Both  done  by  Nanahboozhoo,"  said  the  old  man 
with  a  smile,  as  he  took  his  pipe  out  of  his  mouth. 

"Hurrah  for  Nanahboozhoo !"  shouted  the  lad. 

This  outburst  on  the  part  of  Sagastao  at  once 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  others  to  him  and  Min- 
nehaha  wanted  to  know  what  was  the  matter  now. 

"Why,  did  you  not  hear?  Souwanas  says  that 
Nanahboozhoo  gave  the  ducks  the  red  eyes  and 
makes  the  rabbits  to  be  white  in  winter  and  brown 
in  summer."  Then  turning  to  Souwanas  he  asked, 
"How  does  Nanahboozhoo  do  it?" 

Here  the  father,  while  amused  at  the  lad's  enthu 
siasm,  interposed,  and  said: 

"You  have  already  kept  Souwanas  a  long  time, 
and  perhaps  he  is  busy." 

"Busy !"  said  the  irrepressible  Sagastao,  who  was 
shrewd  beyond  his  years.  "Busy !  Why  Souwanas 
would  rather  tell  stories  than  do  anything  else — 
unless  to  smoke  his  pipe." 

Then  he  glibly  told  Souwanas  in  Saulteaux  what 
had  passed  between  him  and  his  father  in  English, 
and  added,  "Is  that  not  so,  Souwanas?" 

The  old  Indian  smiled,  and  said  kindly: 

"How  can  I  help  enjoying  telling  stories  when  I 
have  such  good  little  listeners?" 

"But  what  about  his  dinner?"  asked  the  kind- 
hearted  Minnehaha.  "If  we  keep  him  here  telling 
stories  he  will  be  too  late  to  get  back  to  his  wigwam 
for  his  dinner.  I  think  we  had  better  take  him  home 
with  us." 

This  was  quickly  decided  upon,  and  that  there 
196 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

might  be  no  mistake  a  piece  of  bark  was  quickly  cut 
from  a  birch  tree  and  a  few  lines  written  upon  it 
telling  the  good  mother  in  the  home  that  they  had 
met  Souwanas,  and  that  he  was  entertaining  the 
children  with  Nanahboozhoo  stories  and  would  be 
with  them  to  dinner.  Then  Jack,  the  great  dog,  was 
called  and  sent  back  with  the  missive,  with  orders 
to  give  it  to  his  mistress. 

As  the  dog  dashed  away  homeward  the  mischiev 
ous  Sagastao  said : 

"My!  don't  I  wish  I  was  in  the  kitchen  when 
Mary  hears  that  we  are  out  here  with  Souwanas 
listening  to  stories  about  Nanahboozhoo!  Won't 
she  be  hopping  mad !" 

"It  will  be  better,"  said  his  father,  "for  Souwanas 
to  tell  his  story  than  for  you  to  make  any  further 
remarks  of  that  kind." 

At  first  Souwanas  seemed  to  show  some  hesitancy 
in  beginning  his  story  in  the  presence  of  his  mis 
sionary,  and  he  whispered  to  Sagastao  his  fears  that 
perhaps  his  father  would  not  care  for  such  trifles  as 
Indian  legends  and  stories. 

With  his  usual  bluntness,  the  lad  declared : 

"O,  you  don't  know  our  father  if  you  think  that 
way  about  him.  He  loves  nice  stories  as  well  as  we 
do,  and  tells  us  lots  of  them ;  so  go  ahead,  for  you 
are  going  home  to  dinner  with  us." 

Thus  assured,  the  old  man  began : 

"I  will  tell  you  to-day  about  how  it  is  that  the 
rabbits  are  white  in  winter. 

"Long  ago  they  were  always  brown,  just  like 
197 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

those  that  are  lying  there  with  the  ducks.  It  is  true 
that  they  increase  very  fast,  but  then  it  is  very  true 
that  they  have  many  enemies.  They  have  not  many 
ways  to  defend  themselves  against  their  foes,  who 
are  of  so  many  kinds.  Almost  all  the  animals  that 
live  on  flesh  are  always  hunting  for  rabbits,  and  so 
are  the  foxes  of  all  kinds,  the  wild  cats,  wolves,  and 
wolverines,  and  even  the  little  weasels  and  ermine. 
Then  there  are  fierce  birds — the  eagle,  the  hawks  of 
all  kinds  and  the  owls — that  are  always  on  the  look 
out  for  rabbits,  young  or  old. 

"The  result  was  that  with  this  war  continually 
being  waged  against  them  the  poor  rabbits  had  a 
hard  time  of  it,  and  especially  in  winter;  for  they 
found  it  very  difficult  to  hide  themselves  when  the 
leaves  were  off  the  trees  and  the  ground  covered 
with  snow.  In  those  days  in  the  long  ago  the  ani 
mals  used  to  have  a  great  council.  There  the  great 
fathers  or  heads  of  each  kind  of  animal  and  bird 
used  to  meet  together  and  talk  about  their  welfare 
and  the  welfare  of  each  other.  Then  there  was  peace 
and  friendship  among  them  while  at  the  council. 

"They  appointed  a  king,  and  he  presided  as  a 
great  head  chief.  All  the  animals  that  had  troubles 
or  grievances  had  a  right  to  come  and  speak  about 
them  and,  if  possible,  have  them  remedied. 

"Some  queer  things  were  said  sometimes.  At  one 
council  the  bear  found  great  fault  with  the  fox,  who 
had  deceived  him,  and  had  caused  him  to  lose  his 
beautiful  tail  by  telling  him  to  go  and  catch  fish  in 
a  big  crack  in  the  ice.  He  sat  there  so  long  that  the 

198 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

crack  froze  up  solidly  and  to  save  his  life  he  had  to 
break  off  his  tail. 

"But  all  the  things  they  talked  about  were  not  so 
funny  as  that.  They  had  their  troubles  and  dangers, 
and  they  discussed  various  plans  for  improving  their 
condition  and  considered  how  they  could  best  defeat 
the  skill  and  cleverness  of  the  human  hunters. 

"When  the  rabbit's  turn  came  to  be  heard  he  had 
indeed  a  sorrowful  tale  to  tell.  He  said  that  his  peo 
ple  were  nearly  all  destroyed.  The  rest  of  the  world 
seemed  combined  against  his  race,  and  they  were 
killing  them  by  day  and  night,  in  summer  and  win 
ter,  and  they  had  but  little  power  to  fight  against 
their  many  enemies.  They  were  almost  discouraged, 
but  had  come  to  the  council  to  see  if  their  brethren 
could  suggest  any  remedy  or  plan  to  save  them  from 
complete  destruction.  While  the  rabbit  was  speak 
ing  the  wolverine  winked  at  the  wildcat,  while  the 
fox,  although  he  tried  to  look  solemn,  could  not  keep 
his  mouth  from  watering  at  the  thought  of  the  many 
rabbits  he  intended  yet  to  eat. 

"Thus  it  can  be  seen  that  the  poor,  harmless  rab 
bit  did  not  get  much  sympathy  from  that  part  of  the 
crowd  that  killed  his  race  all  the  rest  of  the  year. 

"Still  there  were  some  animals,  like  the  moose, 
and  the  reindeer,  and  the  mountain  goat,  that  stood 
up  in  the  council  and  spoke  out  bravely  for  the  rab 
bit.  Indeed  they  told  the  animals  that  had  only 
laughed  at  the  rabbit's  sad  story  that,  if  nothing  was 
done  for  the  little  rabbit  and  they  went  on  killing  as 
they  were  doing,  they  would  soon  be  the  greatest 

199 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

sufferers,  for  if  the  rabbits  were  all  gone  there  was 
nothing  else  that  they  could  get  in  sufficient  numbers 
to  keep  them  alive.  This,  which  is  a  fact,  rather 
sobered  some  of  them  at  first;  but  they  soon  re 
sumed  their  mocking  at  the  poor  little  rabbit  and  his 
story,  and,  as  they  were  in  the  majority,  the  council 
refused  to  do  anything  in  the  matter. 

"When  the  moose  heard  the  decision  of  the  coun 
cil  he  was  very  sorry  for  his  poor  little  brother  the 
rabbit,  so  after  thinking  it  over  he  told  the  rabbit  to 
jump  up  on  one  of  his  flat  horns  while  he  was  hold 
ing  them  down.  Then  the  moose  carried  him  out 
some  distance  from  the  council  meeting,  and  said : 

"There  is  no  hope  for  you  here.  The  most  of  the 
animals  live  on  you,  and  so  they  will  not  do  anything 
that  will  make  it  more  difficult  for  you  to  be  caught 
than  it  is  now.  Your  only  chance  is  to  go  to  Nanah- 
boozhoo,  and  see  what  he  can  do  for  you." 

"Hurrah!"  shouted  Sagastao.  "I  thought  it 
would  be  to  Nanahboozhoo  after  all." 

Continuing,  Souwanas  said : 

"The  moose  encouraged  the  rabbit  by  saying, 
'Nanahboozhoo's  name  was  once  Manabush,  or 
Ketche-Wapoose,  Great  Rabbit,  and  so  I  am  sure  he 
will  be  your  friend,  as  I  think  he  is  a  distant  relation. 

"Not  waiting  for  the  council  to  close,  away  sped 
the  rabbit  along  the  route  described  by  the  moose, 
who  had  lately  found  out  where  Nanahboozhoo  was 
stopping.  The  rabbit  was  such  a  timid  creature  that 
when  he  came  near  to  Nanahboozhoo  he  was  much 
afraid  that  he  would  not  be  welcomed.  However, 

200 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

his  case  was  desperate,  and  although  his  heart  was 
thumping  within  him  with  fear  he  hurried  along  to 
have  the  thing  over  as  soon  as  possible.  To  his  great 
joy  he  found  Nanahboozhoo  in  the  best  of  humor 
and  he  was  received  most  kindly. 

" Nanahboozhoo  saw  how  wearied  and  tired  the 
rabbit  was  after  the  long  journey,  and  so  he  made 
him  rest  on  some  fragrant  grass  in  the  sunshine 
while  he  went  out  and  brought  in  for  him  to  eat 
some  of  the  choicest  things  from  his  garden.  Then 
afterward  he  had  the  rabbit  tell  of  all  his  troubles 
and  of  how  he  was  treated  at  the  council. 

"This  part  of  the  story,  of  how  they  acted  at  the 
council,  made  Nanahboozhoo  very  angry. 

"  'And  that's  the  way  they  treated  this  little 
brother  at  the  council  we  have  given  them,  where 
it  is  expected  that  the  smallest  and  the  weakest  shall 
have  the  same  right  to  have  his  case  heard  and  at 
tended  to  as  the  biggest  and  strongest!  It  is  high 
time  that  somebody  was  coming  to  me  with  council 
news  if  things  are  like  this.  Look  out,  Mister  Fox, 
and  Wolverine,  and  Wild  Cat,  for  if  I  get  after  you 
I  will  so  straighten  you  out  that  you  will  be  sorry 
that  the  rabbit  had  to  go  to  Nanahboozhoo  for  the 
help  you  ought  to  have  given  him !' 

"Nanahboozhoo  had  worked  himself  up  into  such 
a  furious  temper  that  the  rabbit  was  almost  fright 
ened  to  death.  But  when  he  saw  this  Nanahboozhoo 
only  laughed  at  him,  and  said  he  was  sorry  to  have 
scared  him. 

"  'I  was  so  angry/  said  Nanahboozhoo,  'at  those 

201 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

animals  for  ill-treating  you  that  I  forgot  myself; 
and  now,  little  brother,  what  do  you  want  me  to  do 
for  you  ?' 

'They  had  a  long  talk  about  the  matter  and  the 
decision  was  that  there  should  be  two  great  changes. 
The  first  was  that  the  eyes  of  the  rabbit  were  to  be 
so  increased  in  power  that  they  should  in  future  be 
able  to  see  by  night  as  well  as  by  day,  and  the  sec 
ond  was  that  in  all  Northlands  where  much  snow 
falls  during  many  months  of  the  year  rabbits  shall 
change  into  a  beautiful  white  color,  like  the  snow, 
and  thus  continue  as  long  as  the  winter  lasts.  And 
the  rabbits  now  have  a  much  better  time  than  they 
had  formerly.  They  can  glide  away  in  the  darkness 
from  their  enemies  when  in  the  woods,  and  when 
out  in  the  snow  they  are  not  easily  seen  and  often 
escape  notice  by  remaining  perfectly  still." 

But  long  ere  Souwanas  had  ended  Jack  had  re 
turned  from  the  home  with  a  note  to  say  that  dinner 
would  soon  be  ready,  and  that  no  one  could  be  more 
welcome  than  Souwanas. 

"But  what  about  the  red  eyes  of  the  ducks?"  said 
the  two  children,  whose  appetites  for  stories  were 
simply — well,  like  those  of  other  boys  and  girls. 

Here  the  father  had  to  interfere  and  say  that 
there  had  been  quite  enough  for  one  day.  However, 
before  the  walk  homeward  began,  Souwanas  was 
pledged  to  tell  the  other  story  at  the  first  convenient 
opportunity. 


202 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 


CHAPTER    XX. 

Passing  Hunters  and  Their   Spoils — The  Vain  Woman — 
Why  the  Marten  has  a  White  Spot  on  His  Breast. 

S   the   home   where   Sagastao   and 
Minnehaha  lived  was  near  a  trail 
along    which    numbers    of    Indian 
hunters  were  accustomed  to  travel 
when  on  their  way  to  the  trading 
post  with  their   furs,   they   fre 
quently   called    in    to    see   their 
loved     friends     the     palefaces. 
These  hunters  were  always  wel 
come,    and    as  they    were   very 
seldom  in  a  hurry  the  children 
drew  from  them  many  a  quaint 
Indian  legend  or  story  of  animal  life. 

It  was  also  a  great  pleasure  for  the  children  to 
have  the  hunters,  returning  from  a  successful  trip, 
open  their  fur  packs  and  spread  out  before  them  the 
rich  furs  and  tell  them  stories  about  these  animals — 
the  silver  fox,  the  otter,  beavers,  minks,  martens, 
ermines,  and  sometimes  even  about  great  bears  and 
wolves,  whose  skin  they  had  often  had.  These  valu 
able  furs  were  generally  well  dressed  and  prepared 
for  shipment  by  the  industrious  women  before  they 
were  taken  to  the  trading  post.  Sometimes,  how 
ever,  a  hunter  when  on  the  trail  to  the  trading  post 

203 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

would  find  in  one  of  his  traps  an  animal  just  caught, 
and  not  having  time  to  return  to  his  wigwam  and 
have  the  skin  dressed  and  dried  he  would  carry  the 
animal  just  as  it  was  and  sell  it  to  the  fur  traders. 

One  day  there  called  a  number  of  Indians,  and 
among  them  was  a  hunter  with  a  couple  of  martens 
which  he  had  caught  in  his  trap  that  very  morning. 
Sagastao  and  Minnehaha  had  never  seen  these  little 
animals  before,  and  they  handled  them  with  much 
interest  and  asked  several  questions  about  them. 

"Why  has  the  marten  that  queer  white  spot  on  its 
throat?"  asked  Minnehaha. 

The  Indians  looked  at  each  other  and  a  grim  smile 
flitted  over  their  bronzed  faces  when  they  heard  this 
question. 

Their  conduct  only  the  more  excited  the  curiosity 
of  the  children  and  they  both  clamored  for  the  an 
swer.  Then  one  of  the  Indians  said : 

"Ask  Mary;  she  knows  all  about  the  story,  and 
as  a  woman  was  in  the  affair  she  can  tell  it  better 
than  we  can." 

With  this  answer  the  children  had  to  be  content, 
for  the  hunters,  having  drank  their  cups  of  tea, 
soon  took  their  departure. 

When  the  children  found  Mary  they  at  once  de 
manded  the  story. 

"What  story?"  said  Mary. 

"O,  you  know  what  we  want,  for  you  were  in  the 
kitchen  and  heard  what  was  said." 

But  Mary  still  protested  her  ignorance,  and  de 
clared  that  she  had  been  so  busy  caring  for  Souwa- 

204 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

naquenapeke  that  she  had  not  listened  to  half  the 
chatter  that  had  passed  between  them  and  the 
Indians. 

"O,  I  know  you,  sakehow  Mary,"  said  Sagastao. 
"You  don't  want  to  tell  us  because  there  was  a  wom 
an  like  yourself  mixed  up  in  it." 

Mary  bridled  up  with  indignation,  but  before  she 
could  utter  a  word  the  arms  of  Sagastao  were  around 
her  neck,  and  he  cried : 

"Forgive  me,  sakehou !  for  speaking  so  foolishly. 
I  do  remember  now  that  you  had  left  the  kitchen 
with  baby  before  Minnehaha  asked  the  question." 

This  prompt  apology  and  the  sweet  word  "sake- 
how"  restored  harmony,  and  Mary  was  now  anxious 
to  please  them. 

"What  was  the  question  which  interested  you?" 
asked  Mary. 

"Why  has  the  marten  that  queer  white  spot  on  its 
throat?"  asked  Minnehaha. 

"And  the  men  told  us  to  go  to  you  because  there 
was  a  woman  in  it,"  added  Sagastao. 

Mary  smiled  when  she  heard  this. 

"Yes,"  she  said,  "there  was  a  foolish  woman 
mixed  up  in  the  story.  It  was  like  this,  as  far  as  I 
can  remember,  and  it  is  a  story  from  the  North  peo 
ple.  Long  ago  a  man  had  a  wife  who  was  a  very 
proud,  vain  woman.  She  was  not  contented  with 
having  her  husband  and  her  own  people  saying  nice 
things  about  her,  but  she  wanted  to  be  flattered  and 
admired  by  every  creature.  You  know  that  I  have 
told  you  that,  in  old  times,  animals  could  talk  and 

205 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

do  many  things.  Well,  this  conceited  woman,  with 
her  silly  foolish  way,  began  attracting  the  different 
animals  around  her.  Almost  everybody  was  laugh 
ing  at  her,  but  she  seemed  to  think  it  great  fun  to 
have  so  many  admirers.  She  got  a  lesson  one  day 
when  flirting  with  the  bear.  They  were  walking 
along  together  and  she  let  him  put  his  arm  around 
her,  but  he  gave  her  such  a  hug  that  he  broke  two 
of  her  ribs.  She  was  a  long  time  getting  well  and 
then  her  husband  gave  her  a  great  lecturing.  You 
would  have  thought  that  this  would  have  cured  her, 
but  not  a  bit  of  it.  When  she  was  well  again  she 
was  just  as  silly  as  ever,  though  she  took  good  care 
not  to  flirt  with  any  animal  that  could  hug  like  a 
bear.  She  next  bewitched  the  skunk  with  her  fool 
ishness.  But  one  day,  as  they  walked  together,  a 
dog  suddenly  attacked  the  skunk  and  in  his  anger 
and  excitement  he  so  perfumed  the  woman,  instead 
of  the  dog,  with  his  odor  that  her  husband  found  her 
out  and  gave  her  a  beating. 

"Everybody  was  now  laughing  at  her  on  account 
of  her  silly  ways,  and  as  her  husband  had  persons 
employed  to  see  what  creatures  she  went  out  walking 
with  she  had  to  remain  at  home  in  her  wigwam.  But 
when  a  woman  gets  proud  and  conceited  and  carries 
on  like  this  one  did  she  is  hard  to  cure.  The  fact 
was,  her  husband  was  too  kind  to  her.  He  did  not 
give  her  plenty  of  work  to  keep  her  busy  and  out  of 
mischief.  Instead  of  making  her  chop  the  wood  and 
carry  the  water,  and  do  other  hard  things,  he  did  it 
for  her,  for  he  was  very  proud  of  her  and  she  was 

206 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

indeed  a  beautiful  woman.  He  did,  however,  make 
her  stay  in  their  wigwam  instead  of  allowing  her  to 
go  about  wherever  she  liked. 

"She  spent  most  of  her  time  in  fixing  herself  up 
in  her  beautiful  clothes  and  thinking  what  a  lovely 
creature  she  was.  But  she  soon  missed  the  flattery 
of  her  admirers  and  resolved  that,  in  spite  of  her 
husband,  she  would  try  to  hear  it  again.  So  vig 
ilant,  however,  were  her  husband  and  his  friends 
that  they  were  too  clever  for  her. 

"One  day  her  husband  returned  from  hunting  and 
visiting  his  traps  and  snares.  Among  other  animals 
that  he  had  trapped  was  a  beautiful  marten.  He 
had  caught  it  in  what  is  called  a  dead-fall;  that  is, 
where  a  log  is  so  arranged  that  when  the  animal 
reaches  the  bait  he  is  directly  under  the  log,  which 
falls  upon  him  the  instant  he  pulls  the  bait. 

"When  the  woman  took  up  the  marten  which  her 
husband  had  thrown  at  her  feet  she  noticed  that  it 
was  still  quite  warm,  but  she  said  nothing  about  it 
to  her  husband,  who,  picking  up  an  ax  and  blanket, 
said  that  he  was  going  off  to  visit  his  more  distant 
traps  and  would  not  be  back  for  some  days.  Before 
he  left  he  made  her  promise  that  she  would  not  leave 
the  wigwam  until  his  return. 

"The  woman,  as  soon  as  she  was  sure  that  her 
husband  was  really  gone,  picked  up  the  marten.  On 
examining  it  she  was  convinced  that  it  was  not  dead, 
only  knocked  senseless  by  the  falling  log,  so  she 
rubbed  it,  and  breathed  into  its  nostrils,  and  then 
with  a  reed  blew  air  into  its  lungs. 

207 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

"Sure  enough,  the  life  was  in  it,  and  the  first  sign 
it  gave  was  a  big  sneeze  or  two.  At  this  the  woman 
wrapped  it  up  in  a  warm  covering  and  held  it  until 
it  was  well  again.  The  marten,  of  course,  was  very 
much  frightened  when  it  found  itself  in  the  hands 
of  a  woman.  It  was  about  to  struggle  to  get  free, 
when  the  woman  spoke  to  it  in  its  own  language. 
At  this  it  was  very  much  surprised,  and  more  so 
when  the  woman  told  it  how  she  had  given  it  back 
its  life,  and  that  now  in  return  it  must  do  what  she 
desired. 

"Any  animal  or  human  being  would  be  willing 
to  promise  as  much  when  its  life  had  been  thus 
restored  to  it. 

"  'I  will  do  anything  I  can  for  you,'  said  the 
marten. 

"  'I  want  you  to  go  to  your  king  marten/  said 
the  woman,  'and  tell  him  that  a  beautiful  lady  has 
heard  so  many  wonderful  things  about  him  that  she 
is  very  anxious  to  have  a  visit  from  him.' 

"This  the  marten  promised  to  do,  and  it  was  not 
very  long  before  the  king  marten  came.  Of  course 
he  had  to  be  very  cautious,  as  he  had  been  warned 
of  the  many  who  were  watching  the  silly  woman. 

"Hardly,  however,  had  he  time  to  say  much  to 
her  before  the  footsteps  of  her  husband  were  heard 
outside.  The  instant  he  opened  the  door  of  the  wig 
wam  the  king  marten  ran  out,  and  disappeared  in 
the  forest. 

"  'What  was  that?'  asked  the  husband. 

"  'O,  dear,  that  was  the  marten  you  trapped.  It 
208 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

must  have  come  to  life  and  escaped/  said  the  wom 
an,  who  thus  cleverly  saved  herself  and  the  king 
marten. 

"The  man  was  suspicious,  but  as  the  marten  which 
he  had  trapped  was  not  to  be  found  he  could  not 
find  fault  with  her,  except  to  say  that  she  ought  to 
have  skinned  the  marten  soon  after  he  had  brought 
it  in. 

"The  king  marten,  who  was  a  very  conceited  fel 
low,  had  been  quite  struck  with  the  beauty  of  the 
woman,  and  so,  in  spite  of  his  narrow  escape,  he 
resolved  to  go  and  see  her  again.  By  watching  her 
husband's  departure  he  managed  to  have  several 
brief  visits,  and  at  length  became  so  infatuated  with 
her  that  he  tried  to  coax  her  to  run  away  with  him. 

"When  she  heard  this  she  was  very  angry,  for, 
with  all  her  foolishness,  she  had  only  acted  as  she 
did  because  of  her  vanity  and  love  of  flattery.  Now 
that  the  marten  had  dared  make  such  a  request  she 
resolved  that  he  should  be  punished;  so  one  day, 
when  he  was  sitting  beside  her  and  saying  a  lot  of 
foolish  flattery,  she  heard  the  footsteps  of  her  hus 
band  approaching,  but  did  not  warn  the  king  marten. 

"So  the  man  thus  caught  the  old  marten  sitting 
by  the  side  of  his  wife.  At  this  he  was  much  an 
noyed,  and  as  the  marten  suddenly  ran  out  the  man 
asked  the  woman  what  it  meant.  So  she  told  him 
all  that  the  marten  had  said,  and  of  his  impertinence 
in  asking  her  to  leave  him  and  become  the  marten's 
wife.  At  this  the  man  was  very  indignant,  and  so 
they  arranged  to  punish  the  marten. 

209 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

"The  next  time  the  man  went  off  he  told  his  wife 
to  fill  the  kettle  with  water  and  put  it  on  the  fire 
to  boil.  Then  the  man  took  his  traps  and  started 
off  as  though  he  were  going  on  a  long  journey.  But 
he  only  went  a  little  way,  just  far  enough  to  throw 
the  marten  off  his  guard,  and,  sure  enough,  while 
he  was  watching  he  saw  the  marten  go  into  the 
wigwam. 

"Then  the  man  came  quietly  to  the  door  and 
listened.  He  heard  the  marten  urging  his  wife  to' 
leave  and  run  away  with  him.  Then  he  suddenly 
sprang  into  the  tent  and  shouted  out : 

"  'Old  king  marten,  what  are  you  doing  here  ? 
How  dare  you  talk  to  my  wife?' 

"So  saying,  the  man  seized  the  kettle  of  boiling 
water  and  threw  its  contents  at  the  marten,  severely 
scalding  him.  The  marten  tore  at  his  burning  breast 
as  he  dashed  away  into  the  woods.  And  from  that 
day  to  this  all  martens  have  that  whitish  spot  on 
their  chests  caused  by  that  burn.'* 

"What  became  of  the  woman?"  said  Sagastao. 

"Never  mind  now.  We  have  wasted  too  much 
time  already  on  such  a  good-for-nothing  conceited 
flirt,"  said  Mary. 


210 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

Shooting  Loons— Why   the   Loon   has   a   Flat   Back,   Red 
Eyes,    and    Such    Queer    Feet— Nanahboozhoo    Loses    His 
Dinner — Origin   of  Lichens — Why   Some 
Willows  are  Red— The  Partridge. 

OTHING  gave  the  children  greater 
pleasure  than  to  have  the  Indians 
take  them  in  their  canoes  for  a 
couple  of  hours'  trip  on  the  bright 
waters  of  the  beautiful  lake  that 
spread  out  before  their  home. 

These  pleasant  outings  were 
sometimes  rendered  exciting  and  doubly  interesting 
by  the  sight  of  a  black  bear  or  a  deer  wandering  on 
the  shore  or  swimming  from  some  point  on  the 
island.  At  other  times  there  would  be  numbers  of 
loons,  or  great  Northern  divers,  as  they  are  gener 
ally  called.  Their  wonderful  quickness  in  diving, 
then  the  length  of  time  that  they  could  remain  under 
the  water  and  the  great  distance  they  would  swim 
before  coming  to  the  surface  were  watched  with 
great  interest  by  both  Sagastao  and  Minnehaha. 

The  Indians  did  not  often  hunt  loons.     In  fact 
they  found  it  so  difficult  to  shoot  one  that  more 
than  its  value  in  ammunition  was  generally  ex 
pended  in  the  attempt.     The  Indians  always  de 
an 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

clared  that  these  clever  birds  could  see  the  flash  of 
their  guns  and  dive  down  out  of  danger  before  the 
shot  reached  them. 

However,  as  some  of  them  were  desired  for  their 
beautiful  feather-covered  skins,  which  make  most 
valuable  and  beautiful  caps  and  muffs,  it  was  de 
cided  that  Souwanas  and  Kennedy  should  take  the 
missionary's  breech-loading  rifle,  in  addition  to  their 
own  guns,  and  try  to  secure  a  few. 

The  children  begged  to  be  allowed  to  accompany 
them,  and  as  the  day  was  unusually  fine  and  the 
lake  almost  without  a  ripple  they  were  given  a  holi 
day  and  allowed  the  privilege  of  an  all-day  outing 
with  these  two  trusty  and  experienced  men. 

A  generous  lunch,  with  the  indispensable  tea  ket 
tle,  was  placed  in  the  canoe  by  careful  Mary,  who,  as 
usual,  was  angry  that  the  children  were  to  be  so 
long  under  the  witchery  of  old  Souwanas. 

With  the  merry  shouts  of  laughter  from  the  chil 
dren  as  their  accompaniment  the  two  Indians  skill 
fully  plied  their  paddles,  and  it  was  not  long  before 
they  were  some  miles  distant  and  on  the  lookout  for 
loons.  It  often  happens  that  the  things  desired  are 
the  last  to  come.  So  it  was  this  day.  Wild  ducks 
in  goodly  numbers,  and  even  geese  and  some  swans 
and  pelicans  were  frequently  seen.  At  length,  how 
ever,  strange,  mournful  sounds  far  ahead  were 
heard,  and  the  experienced  Indians  knew  that  the 
birds  for  which  they  were  looking  were  not  far 
away.  Still  it  was  some  time  before  the  first  long 
white  neck  and  black  head  were  seen  in  the  distance, 

213 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

for  the  cry  of  the  loon  not  only  differs  from  that 
of  any  other  bird,  but  is  very  far-reaching. 

The  excited  children  were  now  told  to  be  very 
still  and  keep  quiet,  using  their  eyes  alone,  and  wit 
ness  the  contest  between  man's  skill  and  the  birds' 
cleverness. 

So  accustomed  have  some  old  loons  become  to 
being  fired  at  and  missed  by  Indians  using  the  old- 
fashioned  flintlock  shotgun,  which  makes  such  a 
flash  when  fired,  that  they  just  barely  keep  out  of 
range.  The  instant  they  see  the  fire  flash — down 
they  go,  and  then  as  the  shot  or  bullet  strikes  the 
place  where  they  were  they  bob  up  again  serenely  in 
the  same  spot,  or  in  one  not  very  far  distant.  This 
risky  sport  some  of  them  will  keep  up  for  hours,  or 
until  the  disheartened  hunters  have  wasted  nearly 
all  their  ammunition. 

To-day,  however,  there  was  to  be  a  new  weapon 
tried  against  them,  and,  alas  for  them,  they  were 
sadly  worsted.  Kennedy  first  loaded  his  old  flint 
lock  shotgun  and  blazed  away,  but,  as  usual,  they 
were  out  of  sight  under  the  water  before  the  shot 
struck  the  place  where  the  loons  had  been. 

For  a  time  the  loons  were  shy,  and  swam  quite  a 
distance  away.  But  after  a  while,  as  they  found  that 
Kennedy's  gunshots  could  be  dodged,  they  did  not 
bother  to  swim  very  far  away.  This  was  just  what 
Souwanas  was  waiting  for.  He  now  took  up  the 
rifle,  and  as  soon  as  a  loon  came  to  the  surface  he 
fired  from  this  new  weapon,  that  gave  no  flash  to 
warn  the  poor  bird  of  the  deadly  bullet  that  was  so 

213 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

rapidly  speeding  on  its  way.  Thus  it  happened  that 
loon  after  loon  was  struck  and  several  beautiful 
birds  were  secured — greatly  to  the  sorrow  of  the 
children,  who  delighted  in  watching  their  clever 
diving  and  sudden  reappearance  after  Kennedy  dis 
charged  his  old  gun.  Out  of  deference  to  their  feel 
ings  the  Indians  soon  ceased  shooting,  although  with 
this  new  rifle  they  could  easily  have  secured  many 
more. 

"Let  us  now  go  ashore,  on  one  of  these  islands," 
said  Sagastao,  "and  have  our  lunch." 

"And  a  Nanahboozhoo  story  after,"  put  in 
Minnehaha. 

This  plan  was  just  what  the  Indians  were  think 
ing  about,  and  so  in  a  short  time  they  were  all  on 
the  shore.  Dry  wood  was  abundant  and  a  bright  fire 
was  soon  burning,  and  then,  when  the  water  was 
boiled  and  the  tea  made,  the  lunch  basket  was 
opened  and  the  meal  was  much  enjoyed  by  all. 

"Now,  Souwanas,"  said  Minnehaha,  "we  are  all 
ready  for  the  story  at  the  same  time,  and  if  your 
pipe  goes  out  I'll  hand  you  a  burning  stick  with 
which  you  can  light  it  again." 

"Maybe  I  will  keep  you  very  busy,"  remarked  the 
old  man,  much  amused  at  the  offer — and  so  it 
proved,  for  his  pipe  to-day  persisted  in  going  out. 

"One  day,"  began  Souwanas,  "as  Nanahboozhoo 
was  walking  along  the  shore  of  a  lake  he  became 
hungry.  He  considered  what  it  would  be  best  for 
him  to  do  in  order  to  procure  something  to  eat.  He 
decided  to  deceive  the  waterfowls.  He  saw  a  duck 

214 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

swimming  along  near  the  shore  and  spoke  to  the 
bird  in  this  fashion : 

"  'Come  here,  my  brother/ 

"'What  is  it?'  said  the  duck,  as  it  approached 
Nanahboozhoo. 

"  'Kesha  Munedoo  (Gracious  Spirit)  has  re 
vealed  words  to  me  to  tell  to  all  the  waterfowl  some 
very  important  things.  Go  and  tell  all  sorts  of 
waterfowl  to  come,  and  when  they  are  all  together 
I  will  inform  you  what  has  been  revealed  to  me.5 

"The  duck  obeyed  Nanahboozhoo,  who  in  the 
meantime  made  a  very  bare  wigwam  of  green 
boughs,  or  rather  caused  it  to  appear  that  he  did, 
for  he  did  not  exert  much  labor  upon  it.  All  sorts 
of  waterfowl  came  to  Nanahboozhoo  and  they 
seemed  anxious  to  hear  what  had  been  revealed. 
Nanahboozhoo  received  them  with  great  apparent 
friendliness  and  invited  them  to  come  into  the  wig 
wam.  When  they  had  all  entered,  he  said: 

"  'You  must  all  dance,  first,  before  I  tell  you  what 
has  been  revealed  to  me.  All  of  you  must  stand 
close  together  around  inside  of  the  wigwam  and  put 
your  necks  close  together  while  dancing,  and  all  of 
you  must  flap  your  wings  at  the  same  time.' 

"Then  Nanahboozhoo  commenced  singing: 

"  'Pau-zau-gwa-be-she-moog, 
Ke-ku-ma-mis-kwa-she-gun.' 

("  'Shut  your  eyes, 
And  I'll  make  you  wise.') 

These  words  Nanahboozhoo  repeated  three  times. 

215 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

All  the  fowl  kept  time  to  the  music  and  words  of  the 
song,  and  danced,  shutting  their  eyes.  Nanahbooz- 
hoo  continued  singing,  changing  to  the  following 
words : 

"  'Au-yun-ze-kwa-gau.' 

"All  the  time  such  was  Nanahboozhoo's  power 
over  the  birds  that  they  kept  singing  and  dancing 
and  at  the  same  time  holding  their  heads  close  to 
gether.  Nanahboozhoo's  voice  was  singing  in  the 
center  of  the  tent,  his  drum  beating  at  the  same 
time,  while  he  in  person  went  around  in  the  wigwam 
or  lodge  wringing  the  necks  of  the  waterfowl  and 
throwing  them  on  the  side  of  the  lodge.  The  loon, 
the  great  diver  bird,  was  dancing  on  the  open  door 
side  of  the  lodge.  He  suspected  that  Nanahboozhoo 
was  up  to  some  of  his  tricks,  doing  something  bad, 
so  he  opened  his  eyes  and  saw.  At  once  he  gave 
the  alarm,  and  shouted: 

"  'Nanahboozhoo  is  killing  us !' 

"All  the  fowl  that  were  still  alive  when  they  heard 
these  words  at  once  flew  out  at  the  top  opening 
of  the  lodge,  except  the  loon,  or  diver,  and  he  being 
at  the  door  turned  and  ran  out  of  the  lodge  as  fast 
as  he  could  toward  the  shore  of  the  lake. 

"Nanahboozhoo  was  so  angry  at  him  for  daring 
to  open  his  eyes,  and  then  for  warning  the  others, 
enabling  many  of  them  to  get  away,  that  he 
ran  after  him  and  stamped  upon  him  as  he  had  just 
reached  the  shore.  Hence  it  is,  because  of  Nanah 
boozhoo's  cruelty,  that  the  loon  has  had  a  flat  back 

216 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

and  red  eyes,  and  its  feet  are  so  unlike  those  of  any 
other  waterfowl. 

"When  Nanahboozhoo  had  made  a  large  fire  he 
took  the  waterfowls  he  had  killed  before  the  diver 
gave  the  alarm,  and  covered  them  under  the  ashes, 
leaving  only  their  feet  sticking  out.  While  he  was 
waiting  for  them  to  cook  he  felt  very  sleepy,  so  he 
lay  down  to  rest. 

"But  before  he  went  to  sleep  he  said,  'My  face 
side  has  always  done  all  the  watching.  This  is  not 
fair.  I  will  make  my  back  do  its  share  of  the 
watching.' 

"So,  as  he  cuddled  down  to  have  a  sleep  before 
the  fire,  he  said  to  his  back : 

"  'Now,  you  do  the  watching,  you  lazy,  broad 
back,  while  I  am  sleeping.'  Then,  being  very  tired, 
he  fell  into  a  heavy  sleep. 

"After  a  time  the  watcher  called  out : 

"  'Nanahboozhoo !     Indians  are  coming !' 

"Nanahboozhoo  slightly  raised  himself,  but  he 
saw  no  Indians,  so  he  lay  down  to  sleep  again. 

"But  again  and  yet  again,  for  three  times,  did  his 
faithful  watcher  call  and  warn  him  against  his  ap 
proaching  enemies.  Nanahboozhoo  was  now  so 
stupid  with  sleep  that  he  only  aroused  himself  a  lit 
tle,  not  enough  to  enable  him  to  detect  the  lurking 
enemy.  So  he  became  very  angry  with  his  watcher, 
his  broad  back,  and  gave  it  a  great  thrashing, 
saying : 

"  There !  take  that,  you  great  stupid  watcher,  for 
so  disturbing  me  with  your  false  reports !'  ' .  -  ' 

217 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

'Then  Nanahboozhoo  fell  asleep  again.  The 
broad  back  was  very  much  offended  at  the  treatment 
he  had  received,  for  he  knew  he  was  right,  and  now, 
though  the  Indians  were  close  at  hand,  he  did  not 
again  warn  Nanahboozhoo,  so  the  enemies  came  and 
stole  all  of  his  cooked  fowls.  The  Indians  carefully 
lifted  out  the  fowls  by  their  legs,  which  Nanahbooz 
hoo  left  sticking  up.  When  they  had  eaten  the 
bodies  of  the  fowls  they  stuck  back  the  legs  in  the 
ashes,  as  Nanahboozhoo  had  left  them. 

"When  at  last  his  sleep  was  ended  Nanahboozhoo 
arose  ready  for  his  meal  of  nicely  cooked  fowl. 
Great,  indeed,  were  his  surprise  and  indignation 
when  he  pulled  out  the  feet  from  the  ashes  and  found 
that  the  bodies  of  the  fowls  were  not  there. 

"He  flew  into  a  passion  and  resolved  to  punish  his 
back.  So  he  made  a  fire  of  big  trees  and  stood  with 
his  back  very  close  to  it.  When  his  flesh  began  to 
be  badly  burned  it  blistered,  and  made  a  noise  like 
the  roasting  of  meat.  Nanahboozhoo  did  not  at  first 
seem  to  mind  the  pain,  and  only  said : 

"  'You  may  well  say  'Zeeng,  Zeeng/  in  your  burn 
ing.  I  will  teach  you  a  lesson  you  will  remember 
for  not  telling  me  that  the  Indians  were  stealing  my 
roasted  waterfowl/ 

"Nanahboozhoo  then  went  on  his  way,  but  in  spite 
of  his  magic  powers  he  felt  a  sort  of  a  soreness  in 
his  back.  He  twisted  his  head  around  and  saw  the 
blisters  that  had  been  made  by  the  fierce  fire.  So  he 
thought  how  he  must  get  rid  of  them,  for  they  both 
ered  him,  although  nothing  could  injure  him  for 

218 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

very  long.  While  walking  on  the  edge  of  a  precipice 
he  slipped — and  away  he  slid,  far  down  the  rocky 
side.  When  he  reached  the  bottom,  he  looked  back, 
and  there,  on  the  rock,  on  which  he  had  slid  down, 
he  saw  things  which  he  had  never  seen  before. 

"  'My  nephews/  said  Nanahboozhoo,  'when  they 
see  these  things  on  the  rocks,  will  call  them  Wauko- 
nug  (lichen),  and  although  they  are  poor  food  they 
will  keep  them  from  starving  when  they  have  noth 
ing  better/ 

"This  is  the  Indian  tradition  of  the  origin  of  the 
patches  of  lichen  attached  to  the  bare  rocks.  The 
Indians  still  call  them  'no-scabs/  and  when  boiled 
they  make  a  kind  of  jelly  food  which  is  a  little  bet 
ter  than  starvation. 

"Then  Nanahboozhoo,  although  his  back  was 
bleeding  from  his  sliding  down  the  rough  rocks, 
continued  walking,  sometimes  along  the  shore  and 
sometimes  in  the  thick  bush.  In  one  place  where  the 
thicket  was  very  dense  such  was  his  magic  power 
that  he  pulled  a  lot  of  the  thickets  together  and 
walked  over  on  their  tops.  When  he  looked  back  he 
saw  that  the  blood  from  the  wounds  in  his  back  had 
given  a  red  color  to  the  bushes  over  which  he  had 
walked.  Then  said  Nanahboozhoo: 

"  'My  nephews  will  call  these  bushes  "Me-squah- 
be-me-sheen"  (red  willows).  They  will  use  them  to 
stop  bleeding  when  they  meet  with  any  severe  acci 
dents/  and  such  the  Indians  still  do  when  they  live 
among  them. 

"This  is  the  tradition  as  to  the  origin  of  the  red 
219 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

willow,  once  so  comman  in  many  of  the  Indian 
haunts. 

"The  reason  why  the  partridge  is  called  Kosh-ko- 
e-wa-soo  (one  that  startles)  is  because  one  made 
even  Nanahboozhoo  give  a  big  jump.  It  happened 
in  this  way : 

"As  Nanahboozhoo  was  walking  along  one  day 
in  the  woods  he  saw  a  small  creature.  This  little 
thing  thought  it  would  be  best  for  him  to  be  brave 
in  the  presence  of  Nanahboozhoo,  and  so  when  he 
was  asked  who  he  was  he  answered : 

"  'I  am  one  who  startles.' 

"  'You  cannot  startle  me/  said  Nanahboozhoo. 

"The  little  creature  suddenly  flew  away  and  Na 
nahboozhoo  resumed  his  journey.  By  and  by  he 
reached  a  dangerous  rocky  point  on  the  shore.  Just 
as  he  was  at  the  worst  point  the  partridge  suddenly 
flew  almost  from  under  his  feet  with  a  rumbling 
noise,  and  so  startled  him  that  he  jumped  up,  sprang 
quickly  aside,  fell  into  the  water,  and  got  a  great 
wetting.  So  even  Nanahboozhoo  had  to  confirm  the 
name  of  the  little  partridge." 

The  return  trip  was  not  much  enjoyed  by  the  chil 
dren.  The  dead  loons  in  the  canoe  did  not  look  as 
attractive  as  they  had  appeared  when  swimming  and 
diving  so  gracefully  in  the  lake.  Souwanas  was 
quick  to  notice  their  depression  of  spirits,  and  he 
there  and  then  resolved  that  he  would  never  again 
shoot  any  living  thing  in  their  presence,  and  he  faith 
fully  kept  his  resolve. 

Mary  met  them  as  they  landed  and  her  quick 
220 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

eyes  detected  the  change  in  their  spirits,  and  as  they 
wore  their  hearts  on  their  sleeves  for  her  she  quickly 
found  out  the  cause  of  their  sorrow.  She  was  not 
slow  in  availing  herself  of  the  opportunity  afforded 
of  giving  Souwanas  and  Kennedy  a  vigorous  scold 
ing  for  nearly  breaking  the  hearts  of  her  precious 
darlings,  by  killing  in  their  presence  some  of  the 
birds  whose  play  they  had  often  watched  for  hours 
together. 

The  two  men  took  her  scolding  in  their  usual 
silent  way,  and  then  had  a  quiet  laugh  together  when 
her  wrath  had  exhausted  itself  and  she  had  indig 
nantly  walked  off  with  the  children. 


221 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

Nanahboozhoo's  Ride  on  the  Back  of  the  Buzzard,  who 
Lets  Him  Fall— A  Short-lived  Triumph— Why  the  Buzzard 
has  No  Feathers  on  His  Head  or  Neck. 

NE  beautiful  warm  day,  when  the  leaves  of 
the  trees  were  all  bright  and  golden 
with  their  autumnal  tints,  the  children 
were  visiting  at  the  tent  of  Souwanas. 

The  old  man  was  making  a  beautiful 
little  bow  and  a  quiver  full  of  arrows 
for  Sagastao  while  the  old  wife  was 
manufacturing  an  elaborate  baby  cradle, 
of  the  Indian  pattern,   for   Minnehaha,   in 
which  she  could  carry  her  favorite  doll  in 
S~        the  style  popular  among  the  Indian  girls. 

The    children    were    much    interested    in 
watching  these  highly-prized  gifts  being  pre 
pared  for  them,  and  of  course  had  much  to 
say  in  the  way  of  thanks  to  those  who  were  doing  so 
much  to  add  to  their  happiness. 

While  they  were  thus  busy  several  canoes  were 
seen  coming  from  the  south.  As  the  wind  was 
favorable  sails  had  been  improvised  out  of  blankets, 
each  fastened  to  a  couple  of  oars,  and  with  these 
simple  appliances  they  sped  rapidly  along.  Seeing 
Souwanas's  wigwam  on  the  point  of  land  the  In 
dians  came  to  the  shore  and  smoked  and  chatted  for 

222 


The  Indian  story-teller. 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

a  short  time  ere  they  resumed  their  journey  toward 
the  north. 

They  had  in  their  canoes  quite  a  variety  of  game, 
and  among  them  a  large  ill-smelling  bird  called  a 
turkey-buzzard.  It  was  said  that  the  young  Indian 
hunter  who  had  shot  it  thought  at  first  that  it  really 
was  a  turkey,  but  he  found  out  his  mistake  when  he 
went  to  lift  it  from  the  ground  where  it  had  fallen. 
The  odor  was  so  offensive  that  at  first  he  thought  he 
would  leave  it  behind,  but  when  he  remembered  that 
often  some  of  the  large  feathers  were  used  in  orna 
mental  work  he  decided  to  bring  it  along. 

The  children  were  interested  in  its  appearance,  as 
this  was  the  first  dead  turkey-buzzard  they  had  ever 
seen. 

"Look,  Souwanas,"  said  Minnehaha,  "the  poor 
birdie  has  no  feathers  on  its  neck  or  head.  It  must 
be  very  cold  there  when  the  winter  comes." 

"Well,  I  think  that,  as  likely  as  not,  it  was  its 
own  fault  that  it  lost  its  feathers,"  said  Sagastao, 
and  then  he  added  as  he  poked  the  rank  bird  over 
with  a  stick: 

"I  would  not  be  surprised  to  hear  that  Nanah- 
boozhoo  had  something  to  do  with  it." 

"Nanahboozhoo  had,"  said  Souwanas,  "and  it 
was  because  of  a  mean  trick  that  the  buzzard  played 
upon  him.  And  now  that  these  Indians  are  off, 
who  are  in  a  hurry  to  reach  Poplar  Point,  if  you  will 
sit  down  on  the  rocks  in  the  warm  sunshine  I  will 
tell  you  the  story." 

No  second  invitation  was  necessary,  so  while  the 
223 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

children  seated  themselves  near  him  on  the  smooth 
granite  rock  the  old  man  continued  his  arrow 
making  and  told  them  the  following  story : 

"One  day  when  Nanahboozhoo  was  walking 
through  the  country  he  saw  the  buzzard  soaring  up 
high  in  the  air.  Like  an  eagle,  he  was  making 
graceful  circles  round  and  round  with  very  little 
effort.  After  a  time  the  buzzard  flew  down  to  the 
.earth,  and  there  he  stood  on  a  rock  with  his  great 
wings  outstretched.  Nanahboozhoo  quietly  ap 
proached  and  entered  into  conversation  with  him. 

"  ' Brother  Buzzard/  he  said,  'you  must  be  very 
happy  when  sailing  around  up  there  in  the  blue  sky 
where  you  can  so  easily  see  everything  that  is  going 
on  down  here  on  the  world  below  you.  I  wish  you 
would  take  me  up  there  on  your  back  and  let  me  see 
how  this  world  looks  from  that  high  place  in  the 
blue  sky,  where  you  live  so  much/ 

"The  buzzard  on  hearing  this  request  at  once  flew 
down  to  the  side  of  Nanahboozhoo  and  said : 

"  'I  will  with  pleasure  take  you  up  on  my  back 
and  let  you  see,  as  you  desire,  how  the  world  looks 
from  that  high  place.' 

"Then  Nanahboozhoo,  seeing  how  smooth  was 
the  back  of  the  great  bird,  said : 

"  'Brother  Buzzard,  your  back  is  so  smooth  that 
I  am  afraid  I  will  slip  off,  so  you  must  be  careful 
not  to  sweep  round  too  rapidly  in  your  circles  in 
the  sky/ 

"The  buzzard  told  Nanahboozhoo  that  he  would 
224 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

be  very  careful,  although  at  the  same  time  he  was 
resolved,  if  it  were  possible,  to  play  a  trick  on  him ; 
for  he  had  a  grudge  of  some  long  standing  against 
him  which  Nanahboozhoo  seemed  to  have  forgotten. 

"Nanahboozhoo  then  mounted  on  the  back  of  the 
great  buzzard  and  held  by  his  feathers  as  well  as  he 
possibly  could.  The  buzzard  then  took  a  short  run, 
sprang  from  the  ground,  and  spreading  his  great 
strong  wings  speedily  rose  up  higher  and  higher  in 
the  sky. 

"Nanahboozhoo  at  first  felt  rather  timid  as  he 
found  himself  thus  rapidly  soaring  through  the  air, 
especially  as  it  was  so  difficult  for  him  to  keep  his 
seat.  When  the  buzzard  began  circling  round  and 
round  it  was  even  more  difficult,  for  the  body  of  the 
bird  leaned  over  more  and  more  as  his  speed  in 
creased.  But  Nanahboozhoo  was  very  clever,  and 
after  a  while  he  became  more  accustomed  to  his 
queer  position  and  was  very  much  interested  in  the 
splendid  sights  of  the  great  world  beneath  him,  over 
which  he  could  now  see  for  such  a  great  distance. 
Lakes  and  rivers,  forests  and  mountains,  all  gave 
delight  to  Nanahboozhoo,  who  had  wonderful  pow 
ers  of  vision. 

"At  length,  as  they  rose  up  higher  and  higher  in 
the  blue  sky,  Nanahboozhoo  shouted  out  in  his  de 
light  as  far  away  in  the  distance  he  recognized  the 
wigwam  of  his  grandmother,  Nokomis.  Indeed  so 
delighted  was  he  that  for  a  moment  he  let  go  his 
hold  on  the  buzzard  and  swung  up  his  arms  in  his 
excitement.  The  treacherous  buzzard  noticed  this, 

225 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

saw  it  was  the  opportunity  for  which  he  had  been 
watching,  and  circled  round  so  suddenly  that  his 
body  was  tilted  over,  and  before  Nanahboozhoo 
could  regain  his  grip  he  slipped  off  the  smooth  back 
and  fell  like  a  stone  to  the  ground.  So  terrible  was 
the  force  with  which  he  struck  the  earth  that  he  was 
knocked  senseless,  and  lay  there  for  a  long  time  like 
one  dead. 

"But,  as  I  have  told  you,  Nanahboozhoo  was  more 
than  human  and  nothing  could  really  kill  him.  So 
it  happened  that  after  a  while  he  recovered  his 
senses,  but  he  was  annoyed,  disgusted,  that  he  had 
allowed  the  buzzard  to  play  such  a  mean  trick  on 
him. 

"Then  he  prepared  to  resume  his  journey,  and  of 
course  he  looked  up  to  see  if  there  were  any  sign  of 
the  buzzard.  He  had  not  far  to  look,  for  there,  up 
in  the  sky,  not  far  off,  was  the  old  buzzard  laughing 
at  the  trick  he  had  played  upon  Nanahboozhoo,  and 
much  pleased  with  his  own  cleverness  in  deceiving 
one  known  to  be  so  crafty. 

"  'Laugh  away,  old  buzzard,'  said  Nanahboozhoo. 
'You  have  had  the  best  of  me  this  time,  but  look 
out !  For  I  will  put  a  mark  upon  you  for  this  trick 
of  yours  that  will  enable  your  friends  and  your  ene 
mies  to  recognize  you  both  by  day  and  by  night.' 

"But  the  buzzard,  from  his  high  safe  place  in  the 
sky,  only  laughed  back  in  derision,  and  said : 

"  'No,  indeed,  Nanahboozhoo,  you  will  do  noth 
ing  of  the  kind.  You  have  been  deceiving  the  other 
creatures,  but  in  me  you  have  found  your  match. 

226 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

You  cannot  deceive  me.  And  now,  especially  as  you 
have  threatened  me,  I  will  always  be  on  the  watch 
for  you/ 

"Nanahboozhoo  made  no  reply  to  this  boastful 
speech,  but  he  did  a  lot  of  thinking,  and  he  soon  had 
his  plans  laid  to  teach  Mr.  Buzzard  a  lesson  he 
would  never  forget. 

"Resuming  his  journey  he  pushed  on  as  though 
nothing  had  happened. 

"The  buzzard  was  at  first  suspicious  and  watched 
him  for  some  time.  Then  seeing  nothing  unusual  in 
his  movements  he  flew  away  into  the  distant  sky. 

"Nanahboozhoo,  in  order  to  carry  out  his  plan  to 
punish  the  buzzard,  resolved  to  turn  himself  into  a 
dead  deer.  He  knew  that  the  buzzard  lived  on  dead 
animals  of  all  kinds.  He  chose  a  high  spot,  visible 
from  a  great  distance,  and  there  he  laid  himself 
down  and  changed  himself  into  the  body  of  a  great 
deer.  It  was  not  long  before  the  various  animals 
and  birds  that  subsist  on  such  things  began  to  gather 
round  this  dead  body. 

"The  buzzard,  that  has  such  wonderful  eyes,  to 
see  great  distances,  saw  from  afar  this  gathering  of 
the  birds  and  animals,  and  as  he  was  ever  on  the 
lookout  for  such  things  he  soon  joined  the  rest  of 
the  creatures  around  the  deer.  He  flew  round  and 
round  it  several  times,  for  he  was  at  first  somewhat 
suspicious.  The  closest  inspection,  however,  showed 
him  that  it  was  only  a  dead  deer,  and  that  was  the 
unanimous  opinion  of  all  the  other  animals  and  birds 
that  gathered  there.  There  could  be  no  doubt  in 

227 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN    TALES 

any  creature's  mind  but  that  it  was  a  deer  and  that 
it  was  quite  dead. 

"The  buzzard,  now  that  all  his  suspicions  were 
gone,  in  his  great  greed  to  get  the  best  he  could 
savagely  began,  with  his  powerful  beak,  tearing  a 
hole  in  the  side  of  the  body  that  he  might  get  down 
to  the  rich  fat  that  is  around  the  kidneys.  This  is 
what  those  fierce,  greedy  birds  always  try  to  get 
first.  Deeper  and  deeper  into  the  flesh  he  tore,  until 
at  length  he  was  able  to  crowd  in  his  head  and  neck 
to  reach  the  dainty  morsels  he  so  much  prized. 

"This  was  just  what  Nanahboozhoo  was  waiting 
for,  and  when  the  head  and  neck  of  the  buzzard 
were  completely  hidden  in  the  body  up  jumped  the 
deer,  and  as  he  did  so  the  flesh  closed  up  so  tightly 
around  the  head  and  neck  of  the  buzzard  that  the 
greedy  bird  was  there  securely  held. 

"  'Ha,  ha,  old  buzzard !  I  did  catch  you  after  all, 
as  I  said  I  would/  said  Nanahboozhoo.  'Now  pull 
out  your  neck  and  head.' 

"The  buzzard  with  very  great  difficulty  at  length 
succeeded  in  drawing  his  head  out  of  the  side  of  the 
deer.  The  effort  to  do  so,  however,  was  so  great 
that  he  lost  all  of  the  beautiful  feathers  that  once 
adorned  his  head  and  neck.  From  that  day  they 
have  never  grown  on  him  again,  and  there  is  noth 
ing  there  to  be  seen  but  the  red  rough-looking  skin. 

"  'Never  again/  said  Nanahboozhoo,  'will  feathers 
cover  your  neck  or  head,  and  so  your  friends  and 
enemies,  as  they  see  you,  will  be  reminded  of  how 
Nanahboozhoo  punished  you  for  playing  one  of  your 

238 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

tricks  on  him.  And  also  from  this  time  forward 
your  food  will  only  be  of  the  rankest  kind,  and  the 
disagreeable  odor  will  so  cling  to  you  that  even  in 
the  darkest  nights  your  hateful  presence  will  be 
detected  and  shunned.' 

"Thus,"  added  Souwanas,  "the  buzzard  is  the 
most  despised  of  birds,  because  he  is  such  an  ugly 
fellow,  with  his  featherless  head  and  neck,  and  be 
cause  his  disagreeable  odor  taints  the  sweet  air 
wherever  he  goes." 


229 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

A  Moonlight  Trip  on  the  Lake-— The  Legend  of  the 
Orphan  Boy — His  Appeal  to  the  Man  in  the  Moon — How 
He  Conquered  His  Enemies. 

OONLIGHT  nights  in  the  Northland 
are  often  very  beautiful. 
There  in  the  summer  time 
the  gloaming  continues  until 
nearly  midnight.  Then  noth 
ing  can  be  more  glorious 
than  to  glide  along  amid  the  beautiful  fir-clad 
rocky  islands  in  a  birch  canoe  over  the  still  trans 
parent  waters.  So  large  and  luminous  are  the  full 
moons  of  July  and  August  that,  with  the  west  aglow 
and  with  the  wondrous  aurora  flashing  and  blazing 
in  the  north,  there  is  practically  little  night  and  no 
darkness  at  all. 

Nothing  gave  the  children  greater  pleasure  than 
to  have  permission  to  go  with  Mary  and  Kennedy 
in  a  large  roomy  birch  canoe  for  a  moonlight  excur 
sion  during  one  of  those  warm,  brilliant  nights. 
With  plenty  of  rugs  or  cushions,  to  make  the  coziest 
of  seats  in  the  center  of  the  canoe,  they  fairly  reveled 
in  the  beauties  of  the  romantic  surroundings  while 
they  floated  on  the  moonlit  lake.  Often  in  some 
place  of  more  than  ordinary  beauty  Kennedy  would 

230 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

cease  paddling,  and  then  their  very  quietness  added 
to  the  charms  of  those  happy  outings. 

"Say,  Mary,"  said  Sagastao,  "I  was  reading  in 
one  of  my  books  about  the  'man  in  the  moon.'  Do 
you  know  anything  about  him?" 

"He  is  looking  at  us  very  kindly  to-night,"  said 
Minnehaha.  "I  really  believe  I  saw  him  laughing, 
he  is  so  pleased  we  have  come  out  to  see  him  this 
lovely  night." 

These  remarks  of  the  children  caused  all  in  the 
canoe  to  more  closely  scan  the  great  round  moon 
that  was  shining  with  silvery  whiteness  straight 
in  front  of  them. 

"There  are  lots  of  stories  about  the  moon  among 
our  people,"  said  Mary,  "but  not  a  great  many  about 
the  man  in  the  moon.  There  is,  however,  a  queer 
one  about  how  he  came  down  and  helped  a  poor 
orphan  boy." 

"O,  tell  it  to  us  just  now,"  said  Minnehaha, 
"while  he  is  watching  and  listening." 

"Do,  Mary,"  said  Sagastao,  "and  Minnehaha  and 
I  will  watch  the  old  fellow  and  see  how  he  likes  to 
be  talked  about." 

"Well,"  said  Minnehaha,  "Mary  will  be  talking 
to  him  to  his  face,  and  not  behind  his  back,  as  peo 
ple  sometimes  do  when  talking  about  others." 

Thus  the  children  ran  on  with  their  prattle.  Mary 
and  Kennedy  were  much  amused. 

"Come,  Mary,  hurry  up !  Father  said  the  gloam 
ing  would  end  about  eleven,  and  we  must  be  at  the 
shore  by  that  time." 

231 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

"Pretty  late  hours  for  little  children/'  said 
Kennedy. 

"Never  mind  that,"  said  Sagastao;  "we  will 
make  up  for  it  in  winter  time,  when  it  gets  dark  at 
four  o'clock." 

With  Sagastao  on  one  side  of  her  in  the  big  canoe 
and  Minnehaha  on  the  other — their  favorite  posi 
tions  when  listening  to  her  fascinating  stories  as  she 
crooned  them  out  in  her  soft,  musical  Cree — Mary 
told  them  the  story. 

"Long  ago,"  she  began,  "there  was  a  poor  orphan 
boy  who  had  neither  father  nor  mother,  uncle,  aunt, 
nor  any  living  relative  that  he  knew  of.  He  had  a 
very  hard  time  of  it,  as  the  people  did  not  seem  to 
take  kindly  to  him.  So  he  had  to  live  just  where 
he  could.  He  managed  to  get  along  all  right  during 
the  pleasant  summer  time,  but  when  the  long  cold 
winters  began  he  suffered  very  much.  One  winter 
some  selfish  people  let  him  live  with  them  because 
he  was  willing  to  work  hard  for  what  little  they  did 
for  him.  They  treated  him  badly  in  many  ways. 
They  made  him  go  out  into  the  woods  and  cut  fire 
wood,  but  when  he  brought  it  home  they  would 
only  allow  him  to  stay  in  the  cold  entry-way  which 
they  had  built  to  their  winter  dwelling. 

"They  made  him  go  and  hunt  different  animals 
for  food,  and  then  when  he  brought  them  home  they 
cooked  and  ate  the  best  themselves,  and  just  threw 
the  fragments  and  bones  to  him  as  they  would  to  a 
dog.  Every  member  of  the  household  treated  him 
very  cruelly,  except  a  nice  little  girl,  the  youngest 

232 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

daughter  of  the  family.  She  felt  very  sorry  for 
him.  She  would  secretly  take  him  better  food,  and 
she  furnished  him  with  a  knife  with  which  he  could 
cut  the  tough  pieces  of  meat.  She  had  to  be  very 
careful  not  to  be  discovered,  for  if  found  out  she 
would  have  been  severely  punished.  So  her  pity  had 
to  show  itself  on  the  sly,  and  the  few  words  she 
was  able  to  tell  him  of  her  sympathy  had  to  be  whis 
pered  as  she  passed  him,  when  nobody  was  looking 
or  listening.  The  poor  boy  up  to  this  time  had  no 
ambition  to  better  himself,  but  her  kind  words  and 
deeds  made  him  resolve  that  he  must  begin  and  do 
something  for  himself.  But  what  could  he  do? 
Everybody  seemed  against  him  but  this  little  girl, 
and  she  could  do  nothing  in  the  way  of  helping  him 
to  escape  from  these  people,  who,  now  that  he  was 
becoming  so  useful  to  them,  would  not  let  him  go. 
What,  really,  could  he  do? 

"Thus  the  days  and  weeks  and  months  passed  on 
and  there  seemed  no  chance  of  escape.  He  had  tried 
to  run  away,  but  had  been  caught  and  brought  back 
and  beaten. 

"One  night  when  it  was  not  very  cold  he  went 
outside  of  the  narrow  entry  where  he  generally  had 
to  sleep  and  threw  himself  on  the  ground  and  cried 
in  his  sorrow  and  despair.  He  seemed  to  be  utterly 
unable  to  better  himself.  As  he  lay  there  he  began 
looking  up  at  the  great  bright  moon  that,  now  so 
large  and  round,  was,  he  thought,  looking  earnestly 
at  him.  Soon,  he  was  able  to  see  that  there  was  a 
great  man  in  the  moon.  As  he  watched  him  he  was 

233 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

glad  to  notice  that  he  was  not  looking  crossly  at 
him,  but  kindly,  and  so  he  began  crying  to  the  man 
in  the  moon  to  come  and  help  him  to  escape  from 
the  miserable  life  he  was  leading.  Sure  enough,  as 
the  boy  kept  on  crying  and  pleading  he  saw  the  man 
in  the  moon  beginning  to  come  down  to  this  world. 
He  came  to  the  very  spot  where  the  unhappy  boy 
was  lying,  but  instead  of  helping  him  he  made  him 
stand  up  and  then  he  gave  him  a  good  sound  thrash 
ing,  making  the  boy,  however,  strike  back  at  him  as 
vigorously  as  he  could.  The  beating  he  got  very 
much  disheartened  and  discouraged  the  boy,  for  it 
was  not  what  he  had  expected.  On  the  following 
night,  when  he  had  recovered  a  little,  he  began  re 
proaching  the  man  in  the  moon. 

"  1  called  for  you/  he  said,  'to  come  and  help  me 
against  my  enemies,  and  now  you  have  come  and 
thrashed  me/ 

"But  these  words,  instead  of  softening  the  man  in 
the  moon,  caused  him  to  come  down  again  and  give 
the  poor  boy  a  far  worse  thrashing  than  before,  but 
for  every  blow  he  made  the  boy  return  one  as  good 
as  he  had  received. 

"Now  for  the  first  time  the  boy  began  to  notice 
that  the  more  he  was  beaten  the  stronger  he  grew. 
Still  he  could  not  understand  what  the  man  in  the 
moon  meant.  So  he  came  again,  and  they  had  an 
other  regular  set-to,  and  the  boy  had  another  good 
sound  thrashing.  He  asked  him  what  was  the  mean 
ing  of  his  beating  him  thus.  The  man  in  the  moon 
now  spoke  to  him,  but  his  words  were  so  much  like 

234 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

a  puzzle  that  at  first  the  boy  did  not  understand 
them.    This  is  what  the  man  in  the  moon  said : 

"'Would. you  triumph  o'er  the  strong? 

Be  strong. 
Would  you  let  them  no  more  conquer  ? 

Conquer/ 

"For  a  time  the  boy  repeated  them  over  and  over. 
He  used  to  say  that  as  the  result  of  these  meetings 
with  the  man  in  the  moon  he  had  grown  so  strong 
that  he  was  nearly  able  to  hold  his  own  against  his 
antagonist.  Then  one  day,  when  the  man  in  the 
moon  was  puffing  from  the  encounter,  the  latter 
said: 

"  'Now  by  hard  knocks  and  exercise  I  have  put 
you  on  the  way  of  ending  your  troubles.  Be  strong, 
and  conquer.  Farewell!  I  am  not  coming  again, 
as  you  do  not  need  me  any  more/ 

"Then  away  he  flew  back  to  his  place  in  the  moon. 

"The  boy  seemed  now  to  know  that  he  was  to 
use  his  strength  for  his  own  deliverance.  To  test 
himself  he  began  tossing  up  the  stones  that  were  so 
numerous  on  the  shore  of  the  lake.  First  he  began 
with  quite  small  ones,  but  soon  he  found  that  he 
could  pick  up  and  throw  about  great  big  ones,  that 
were  like  rocks.  When  he  returned  from  this  last 
contest  with  the  man  in  the  moon  it  was  nearly 
daylight. 

"At  first  the  people  began  ordering  him  about  as 
usual.  But  they  soon  had  reason  to  be  sorry  for 
their  cruelty  and  abuse,  for  the  boy  seized  one  after 

235 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

another  of  them  and  flung  them  with  such  violence 
against  the  rocks  that  their  brains  were  dashed  out 
and  their  blood  ran  in  streams  down  the  sides  of  the 
rocks — where  it  turned  into  seams  in  the  rocks 
which  can  be  seen  to  this  day. 

"One  person  only,  of  all  who  lived  in  that  dwell 
ing,  did  the  now  strong  boy  leave  alive,  and  that 
was,  of  course,  the  good-hearted  little  girl  who  used 
to  speak  kind  words  to  him  and  befriend  him  when 
she  could. 

'They  grew  to  be  very  fond  of  each  other,  and 
were  afterward  married  and  lived  in  full  possession 
of  all  the  things  that  once  belonged  to  the  cruel 
people  for  whom  the  little  orphan  boy  had  worked 
so  long." 

"Well,  sakehou,"  said  Sagastao,  "I  have  been 
watching  the  man  in  the  moon  while  you  have  been 
telling  the  story  about  his  queer  way  of  helping  the 
boy  to  help  himself,  and  he  was  looking  pleased  all 
the  time.  So  I  am  sure  he  is  well  satisfied  with  the 
way  you  have  told  the  story." 

Old  Mary  was  delighted  with  these  words  from 
the  lips  of  the  lad  she  loved  with  such  a  passionate 
devotion. 

"But  what  do  you  think  about  it,  little  sister?" 
said  the  lad,  calling  to  MinnehaKa,  who  was  cuddled 
down  on  the  other  side  of  Mary. 

But  the  darling  gave  no  answer,  for  she  had  long 
ago  slipped  off  into  Dreamland,  and  there  she  re 
mained  until  the  strong  arms  of  Kennedy  lifted  her 
up  from  the  canoe  and  carried  her  home. 

236 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

Souwanas's    Love    for    Souwanaquenapeke — How    Nanah- 
boozhoo   Cured  a   Little  Girl   Bitten  by  a   Snake — How   the 
Rattlesnake  got  Its  Rattle — The  Origin  of  Tobacco 
— Nanahboozhoo  in  Trouble. 

AHKIEGUN,  as  Souwanas 
named  the  home  of  his  white 
friends,  always  had  a  warm  wel 
come  for  Souwanas.  Little  Sou 
wanaquenapeke  had  learned  to 
love  him  and  nothing  gave  the 
grave  old  man  greater  pleasure 
than  to  have  charge  of  her  for 
hours  at  a  time.  He  often  car 
ried  her  away  to  his  wigwam 
and  with  great  delight  explained 
to  visiting  Indians  how  his  name 
was  woven  into  that  of  the  first  little  paleface  born 
among  his  people. 

Sagastao  and  Minnehaha,  while  of  course  pleased 
to  see  the  love  of  the  old  chief  for  their  sweet  little 
sister,  were  sometimes  a  little  impatient  when  they 
found  that  he  would  have  his  hour  with  her  before 
they  could  draw  a  Nanahboozhoo  story  out  of  him. 
"You  are  all  right,"  he  would  say  in  his  dry, 
humorous  way,  "as  far  as  you  go;  you  are  only 
Crees,"  he  would  add  with  a  smile,  referring  to  the 

237 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

fact  that  they  had  been  born  among  the  Cree  Indians 
farther  north ;  "but  Souwanaquenapeke  is  better,  as 
she  is  a  pure  Saulteaux." 

This  of  course  would  put  Sagastao  and  Minne- 
haha  on  the  defensive,  for  in  those  days  their  own 
pride  of  birth  was  that  they  were  Cree  Indians. 
Faithful  old  Mary,  herself  a  Cree,  would  of  course 
take  their  part,  and  it  was  very  amusing — laughable 
at  times — to  listen  to  the  wordy  strife.  In  these  dis 
cussions  Mary  was  always  the  one  to  first  lose  her 
temper.  When  this  happened  the  penalty  was  to 
have  the  children  throw  a  shawl  over  her  head  and 
thus  silence  her.  From  their  loving  hands  she 
quietly  took  her  punishment  and  was  soon  restored 
to  good  nature.  Good-hearted  Souwanas  then 
speedily  responded  to  the  call  for  a  story.  But 
the  little  Souwanaquenapeke  must  be,  if  awake,  in 
his  arms,  or,  if  asleep,  in  a  little  hammock  or  native 
cradle  beside  him. 

"What  is  it  to  be  about  to-day?"  asked  the  old 
man,  as  the  children,  full  of  eager  anticipation,  drew 
a  couple  of  chairs  up  before  him. 

After  some  discussion  Souwanas  decided  to  tell 
them  the  Nanahboozhoo  story  of  how  he  lessened 
the  power  of  the  rattlesnakes  to  do  harm. 

"Nanahboozhoo,  in  starting  off  one  day  from  his 
grandmother's  wigwam,  had  put  on  the  disguise  of 
a  fine  young  hunter.  He  had  not  gone  many  miles 
on  his  journey  before  he  came  to  a  little  tent  on  the 
edge  of  the  forest  where  he  found  a  young  Indian 
mother  full  of  grief  over  her  sick  child.  Nanah- 

238 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

boozhoo  could  not  but  feel  very  sorry  for  her,  espe 
cially  when  he  heard  her  story  that  a  snake  had 
crawled  noiselessly  into  her  tent  and  had  bitten  her 
little  girl  while  she  slept.  Nanahboozhoo  felt  such 
pity,  both  for  the  weeping  mother  and  the  bitten 
child,  that  at  once  he  set  to  work  to  counteract  the 
sad  doings  of  the  snake.  He  hurriedly  went  into  the 
forest,  and  there  finding  a  certain  plant  he  said, 
'From  this  day  forward  the  root  of  this  plant  shall 
be  a  remedy  for  all  people  against  the  bites  of 
snakes.' 

"Then  Nanahboozhoo  showed  the  mother  that  the 
roots  were  to  be  pounded  and  made  into  a  drink  and 
a  poultice.  The  glad  mother  quickly  carried  out  his 
instructions  and  the  little  girl  was  soon  well  again. 
The  Indians  have  ever  since  been  very  thankful  to 
Nanahboozhoo  for  letting  them  know  of  this  plant, 
which  they  still  use  for  such  purposes  and  which  they 
call  snakeroot.  Nanahboozhoo  remained  until  he 
saw  that  the  little  girl  was  quite  recovered.  Then 
he  said: 

"  'Now  I  will  fix  that  snake  so  that  he  will  not  be 
able  to  do  so  much  harm  in  the  future/ 

"Then  going  out  he  caught  the  king  of  the  snakes 
and  gave  him  a  great  scolding  for  the  meanness  of 
that  one  of  his  family  which  had  crawled  into  the 
tent  of  the  Indian  mother  and  so  cruelly  bitten  that 
little  girl  while  she  slept.  Then  getting  very  angry, 
for  Nanahboozhoo  was  very  quick-tempered,  he 
said: 

"  'Snakes,  like  other  things,  have  the  right  to  live. 
239 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

They  are  given  their  place  in  the  world,  and  their 
work.  They  are  to  keep  down  the  mice,  rats,  frogs, 
toads,  and  other  things  that  might  become  too  nu 
merous.  They  have  their  poisons  given  them  to 
defend  themselves  if  attacked.  But  they  have  no 
right  to  go  and  kill  or  injure  anyone  doing  them  no 
harm.  I'll  teach  you  snakes  that  in  future  you  can 
not  quietly  crawl  about  and  bite  innocent  people 
thus/ 

"So  he  took  a  piece  of  the  wampum  from  one  of 
the  strings  with  which  he  had  decorated  himself,  and 
having  carefully  carved  the  hard  shells  of  which 
wampum  is  made,  Nanahboozhoo  firmly  fastened 
them  to  the  snake's  tail,  and  said : 

"  'From  this  day  forward  may  all  snakes  like 
you  have  those  noisy  rattles  upon  them,  so  that  all 
people  will  call  you  rattlesnakes.  And  may  it  be 
that  you  can  never  move  without  making  a  noise 
with  those  rattles,  so  that  people  will  always  be  able 
to  hear  them  and  thus  get  ready  to  fight  you,  or  to 
get  out  of  your  way  before  you  can  do  any  harm.' ' 

"Well  done,  Nanahboozhoo!"  shouted  little  Sa- 
gastao.  "He's  the  one  for  me.  But  why  did  he  not 
kill  all  the  rattlesnakes  at  once?" 

Souwanas  was,  however,  too  clever  to  be  caught 
trying  to  answer  a  question  that,  although  asked  by 
a  child,  was  beyond  his  knowledge,  so  he  resorted 
to  his  calumet,  and  as  the  smoke  of  it  began  to  taint 
the  air  Sagastao  said,  "Well,  Souwanas,  can  you  tell 
us  where  you  Indians  first  got  your  tobacco?" 

This  question  was  more  to  the  taste  of  the  old 
240 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

Indian,  so  while  he  smoked  he  related  the  tradition 
of  the  introduction  of  tobacco  among  his  people. 

"Very  many  winters  ago,"  said  he,  "as  Nanah- 
boozhoo  was  traveling  on  one  of  his  long  journeys 
he  visited  a  land  of  great  high  mountains.  One  day 
as  he  was  passing  a  great  chasm  in  the  mountains  he 
saw  some  blue  smoke  slowly  coming  up  out  of  it. 
This  excited  his  curiosity  and  he  went  to  see  what 
caused  it.  As  he  drew  near  to  it  he  was  very  much 
pleased  with  its  odor.  On  further  investigation  he 
found  that  the  great  cave  from  which  the  smoke 
arose  was  inhabited  by  a  giant  who  was  the  keeper 
of  tobacco. 

"Nanahboozhoo,  on  searching,  found  him  half 
asleep  in  this  cave  among  great  bales  and  bags  of 
tobacco. 

"The  smell  of  the  smoke  of  the  tobacco  had  so 
pleased  Nanahboozhoo  that  he  asked  the  giant  to 
give  him  some.  The  giant  refused  in  a  very  surly 
fashion,  saying  that  he  only  gave  portions  of  it  away 
to  his  friends  the  Munedoos,  who  came  once  a  year 
to  smoke  with  him. 

"Nanahboozhoo,  seeing  that  he  was  not  going  to 
be  able  to  get  any  by  thus  pleading  for  it,  snatched 
up  one  of  the  well-filled  tobacco  bags,  dashed  out 
with  it,  and  fled  away  as  rapidly  as  possible.  The 
great  giant  was  fearfully  enraged,  and  at  once  began 
the  pursuit  of  this  rash  fellow  who  had  thus  stolen 
his  tobacco  from  under  his  very  nose. 

"It  was  a  fearful  race.  Nanahboozhoo  had  to 
jump  from  one  mountain  top  to  the  next,  and  so 

241 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

on  and  on  from  peak  to  peak.  Closely  behind  him 
followed  the  giant,  and  Nanahboozhoo  had  all  he 
could  do  to  keep  from  being  captured.  Fortunately 
for  him  he  now  knew  the  mountains  well,  and  he 
remembered  one  ahead  of  him  the  opposite  side  of 
which  was  very  steep.  When  he  reached  this  top 
he  suddenly  threw  himself  down  upon  the  very  edge, 
and  as  the  giant  passed  over  him  Nanahboozhoo 
suddenly  sprang  up  and  gave  him  such  a  push  that 
he  tumbled  down  into  the  fearful  chasm.  He  was  so 
bruised  and  wounded  that,  as  he  got  up  and  hobbled 
away  down  the  far-off  valley,  Nanahboozhoo  watch 
ing  him  saw  that  he  looked  just  like  a  great  grass 
hopper.  He  burst  out  laughing,  and  then  shouted 
to  the  giant : 

"  'For  your  meanness  and  selfishness  I  change  you 
into  a  grasshopper;  Pukaneh  shall  be  your  name 
and  you  will  always  have  a  dirty  mouth/ 

"And  so  it  is  to  this  day,  for  every  little  boy  who 
has  caught  grasshoppers  knows  that  their  saliva  is 
as  though  they  had  been  chewing  tobacco. 

"When  Nanahboozhoo  had  rested  himself  a  little 
he  returned  to  the  cave  of  the  giant  and  took  pos 
session  of  the  great  quantities  of  tobacco  he  found 
there.  He  divided  it  among  the  Indian  tribes,  and 
from  that  time  those  who  live  where  it  will  grow 
have  cultivated  it  and  have  supplied  all  the  others." 

"I  wish/'  said  Minnehaha,  "that  Nanahboozhoo 
had  left  Pukaneh  and  his  tobacco  in  the  cave, 
for  I  don't  think  tobacco  smoke  is  very  nice  in  the 
house." 

242 


Nanahboozhoo  gave  him  a  great  push. 


Of  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

Souwanas  was  amused  with  the  little  girl's  oppo 
sition  to  his  beloved  weed,  and  while  she  was  talking 
took  the  opportunity  to  refill  his  calumet.  When  it 
was  in  good  smoking  order  he,  urgently  requested 
by  Sagastao,  resumed  his  story-telling. 

"Sometimes  it  did  not  fare  so  well  with  Nanah- 
boozhoo.  There  were  times  when  his  cleverness 
seemed  to  forsake  him,  and  he  got  into  trouble  that 
at  other  times  he  would  easily  have  avoided,  For 
example,  one  day  in  the  summer  time  as  he  was 
hurrying  along  he  became  very  thirsty.  Soon,  how 
ever,  he  came  to  a  river  which  has  many  trees  on  its 
banks.  He  pushed  his  way  through  them  until  he 
came  to  the  bank.  Just  as  he  was  stooping  down  to 
drink  he  saw  some  nice  ripe  fruit  in  the  water. 
Without  seeming  to  think  of  what  he  was  doing  he 
dived  into  the  quite  shallow  water  to  get  the  fruit, 
hit  his  head  against  the  rocky  bottom  and  was  pretty 
badly  hurt.  He  was  vexed  and  angry  as  well  as  dis 
appointed,  but  he  took  a  good  drink  of  the  water 
and  then  he  lay  down  on  the  grass  in  the  shade  of 
the  trees  to  rest.  As  he  lay  there  on  his  back  he 
saw  above  him  on  the  branches  of  the  trees  the  fruit 
which  he  had  at  first  thought  was  in  the  water. 

"Laughing  at  his  own  stupidity  and  climbing  up 
into  the  trees  he  soon  had  all  the  ripe  fruit  he  could 
eat. 

"Then  on  he  went,  and  as  his  head  was  quite  sore 
from  the  bump  he  had  got  when  he  dived  into  the 
shallow  river  he  determined  to  visit  some  wigwams 
which  he  saw  not  far  off. 

243 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

"The  people  received  him  very  kindly,  with  the 
exception  of  one  surly,  cross  old  man.  They  quickly 
prepared  some  balsam  and  put  it  on  his  wounded 
head. 

"Nanahboozhoo  was  well  pleased  with  this  kind 
ness,  and  said  that  he  would  be  glad  to  perform  for 
them  some  kindly  act  in  return. 

"Before  anyone  else,  however,  could  speak  the 
cross  old  man  sneered  out : 

"  'O,  if  you  think  you  are  clever  enough  to  do 
anything,  grant  that  I  may  live  forever !' 

"This  request  and  the  sneering  way  in  which  it 
was  made  caused  the  quick-tempered  Nanahboozhoo 
to  become  very  angry,  and  he  suddenly  sprang  up 
and  caught  the  Indian  by  the  shoulders  and  vio 
lently  throwing  him  on  the  ground  said : 

"  'From  this  time  you  shall  be  a  stone,  and  so  your 
request  is  granted/  " 


244 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 


CHAPTER    XXV. 

The  Dead  Moose— The  Rivalry  Between  the  Elk  and  the 
Moose  People,  and  Their  Va 
rious  Contests — The  Disas- 
ter  that  Befell  the  Latter 
Tribe— The  Haze  of  the 
Indian  Summer. 

HE  sight  of  four  stalwart  Indians  drag 
ging  on  a  clog  sled  the  body  of  an  enor 
mous  moose  on  the  ice  in  front  of  their  home 
very  much  interested  the  children. 

Nothing  would  do  but  they  must  be  wrapped 
up  and  allowed  to  go  out  and  examine  it  while 
the  men  rested  and  had  a  smoke.  Its  great 
horns,  its  enormous  ugly  head,  and  then  its- 
coarse,  bristle-like  hair,  had  all  to  be  examined  and 
commented  upon.  The  opportune  arrival  of  Sou- 
wanas,  who  had  been  attracted  by  the  sight  of  the 
moose,  much  pleased  the  children,  and  just  as  soon 
as  the  investigation  of  the  moose  was  over  and  the 
hunters  had  proceeded  on  their  journey  the  children 
insisted  on  Souwanas  going  home  to  Wahkiegun 
with  them  and  telling  them  something  about  the 
moose.  They  also  wanted  to  hear  a  wonderful  story, 
which  he  knew,  telling  how  Nanahboozhoo  helped 
the  elks  to  conquer  the  moose. 

When  there  is  a  disposition  to  surrender  we  are 
easily  conquered.  So  it  was  with  Souwanas  on  this 
occasion.  The  children  in  their  love  for  their  friend 

245 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

pleaded  so  importunately  that  a  good  cup  of  tea  was 
prepared  for  and  much  enjoyed  by  him  before  he 
began  his  story,  his  interested  auditors  as  close  as 
possible  around  him. 

"Once  when  Nanahboozhoo  was  journeying 
through  the  country,"  said  Souwanas,  "he  found 
a  village  of  Indians  who  were  very  poor.  They 
were  called  Oomaskos,  Elk  people.  They  had  noth 
ing  but  the  poorest  of  robes  on  their  backs,  and  they 
were  nearly  destitute  of  everything  in  the  shape  of 
traps,  weapons,  and  canoes.  The  village  was 
strangely  silent,  for  even  the  dogs,  that  generally 
are  around  in  such  numbers,  had  disappeared. 
When  Nanahboozhoo  saw  this  destitution  and  pov 
erty  he  at  once  inquired  the  reason,  and  was  sur 
prised  and  very  angry  to  hear  that  they  were  great 
gamblers. 

"Not  far  off  from  them  was  another  village  whose 
people  were  called  Mooswa,  or  Moose  people, 
and  Nanahboozhoo  soon  found  out  that,  while  the 
inhabitants  of  these  two  villages  were  antagonistic 
to  each  other,  they  frequently  met  to  gamble,  and 
that  the  Moose  people  were  nearly  always  successful 
and  had  won  from  the  Elk  people  nearly  everything 
they  possessed.  The  latter  were  very  much  humil 
iated  at  Nanahboozhoo' s  finding  them  in  such  a 
wretched  condition,  but  they  told  him  they  were 
convinced  that  some  trickery  had  been  practiced  up 
on  them  by  their  opponents.  They  also  informed 
Nanahboozhoo  that  they  would  be  glad  if  he  would 
help  them  to  get  back  their  much  needed  possessions. 

246 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

"Nanahboozhoo  promised  that  he  would  assist 
them  on  condition  that  after  their  possessions  were 
regained  they  should  give  up  the  pernicious  habit 
of  gambling.  This  they  unanimously  promised  to 
do.  The  first  thing  Nanahboozhoo  did  was  to  dis 
guise  himself  as  a  whisky- jack  and  fly  over  to  the 
village  of  the  Moose  people  and  try  to  discover  how 
it  was  that  they  had  been  so  invariably  successful 
when  they  gambled  with  the  Elk  people.  It  was  as 
he  suspected.  His  old  enemies  the  Anamakquis,  the 
evil  spirits  that  had  destroyed  his  brother  Nahpoo- 
tee,  the  wolf,  had  sent  one  of  their  number  among 
the  Moose  people,  and  he  had  enabled  them  to 
win  nearly  all  of  the  dogs,  as  well  as  other  things, 
from  the  Elk  people.  Indeed,  he  himself  had  gener 
ally  been  the  one  who  had  tossed  the  plum  stones 
with  which  they  gambled,  and  they  had  won  by  his 
magic  powers. 

"When  Nanahboozhoo  heard  this  he  knew  that 
his  first  work  must  be  to  secure  the  magic  muska- 
moot  (medicine  bag).  So  he  flew  round  and  round, 
and  peering  in  through  the  top  of  the  wigwam, 
where  the  poles  crossed  each  other,  he  was  fortunate 
enough  to  see  the  magic  bag  hanging  up  on  a  cross 
pole  over  the  place  where  the  Anamakqui  slept.  He 
noticed  also  that  it  was  well  guarded  and  that  it 
would  require  some  cleverness  on  his  part  to  get  it. 

"Nanahboozhoo  was,  as  you  know,  a  very  clever 
fellow.  He  quickly  flew  back  to  the  village  of  the 
Elk  people  and  ordered  the  most  industrious  of  the 
women,  who  were  skillful  in  making  fire  bags,  to 

247 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

make  one  exactly  as  he  described.  This  was,  of 
course,  similar  to  the  magic  muskamoot  he  had  seen 
hanging  up  in  the  tent. 

"Nanahboozhoo  then  put  into  it  things  that  would 
have  just  the  opposite  effect  to  those  which  were  in 
the  bag  of  the  Anamakqui.  He  waited  until  it  was 
dark,  and  then,  noiselessly  flying  back  to  the  village 
of  the  Moose  people,  he  silently  entered  the  wigwam 
at  the  top,  where  there  was  now  a  wide  opening,  as 
it  was  in  the  warm  summer  time,  very  quickly  ex 
changed  the  bag  he  had  with  him  for  the  magic 
muskamoot,  and  returned  to  the  village  of  the  Elk 
people.  It  did  not  take  him  long  to  arrange  his 
plans.  The  chief  of  the  Elks  had  a  beautiful  daugh 
ter,  and  it  was  given  out  that  a  fine  young  chief  from 
a  far-away  tribe  had  come  to  ask  for  her  in  mar 
riage.  The  father  had  welcomed  this  young  chief 
— who  was,  of  course,  Nanahboozhoo — and  as  he 
had  brought  costly  gifts  he  was  at  once  acknowl 
edged  as  the  accepted  son-in-law. 

"The  news  spread  rapidly  and  it  soon  reached  the 
Moose  village.  When  they  heard  of  the  many  gifts 
which  this  rich  young  stranger  had  brought  with 
him  they,  of  course,  were  greedy  to  win  them,  as 
they  had  won  the  rest  of  the  Elks'  property.  It  was 
not  many  days  before  a  company  of  them  came  over 
to  the  Elks,  and  meeting  the  beautiful  daughter  of 
the  chief  they  said : 

'  'We  have  come  over  to  have  a  game  of  plum 
stones  with  your  lover,  to  see  if  he  is  a  better  player 
than  we  are/ 

248 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

"The  girl  went  at  once  into  the  wigwam  and  in 
formed  her  intended  husband,  Nanahboozhoo,  of  the 
challenge  of  these  people.  She  also  told  him  that 
they  were  very  clever  but  that  they  had  no  idea  of 
him  being  anything  else  than  what  he  appeared  to 
be.  Then  she  added : 

"  'Be  sure  to  win ;  if  you  do  not  they  will  beat 
us  with  clubs  and  sticks.  For  the  custom  is  that  the 
side  that  is  defeated  in  the  gambling  must  submit 
to  a  beating  by  the  conquerors.' 

"Then  Nanahboozhoo  and  the  champion  for  the 
Moose  people  sat  down  on  opposite  sides  of  the  bowl 
in  which  were  the  plum  stones,  while  the  people  of 
each  of  the  two  villages  ranged  themselves  behind 
their  own  champion.  When  Nanahboozhoo  shook 
the  bowl,  and  then  let  the  plum  stones  cease  rolling, 
it  was  seen  that  he  had  won  every  point.  At  this 
the  Elks  set  up  a  great  shout  of  triumph.  The 
Moose  people  shouted  back : 

"  'Don't  be  so  fast ;  the  game  is  to  be  the  best 
three  out  of  five;  just  wait  until  our  man  has 
played.' 

"The  plum  stones  were  then  handed  to  him  and 
patting  his  medicine  bag  he  confidently  shook  them 
up,  but  when  they  had  ceased  rolling  it  was  seen  that 
he  had  lost  every  point. 

"The  victory  was  now  so  nearly  won  that  the  Elks 
began  to  say : 

"  'Get  your  clubs  ready  to  thrash  the  Moose  peo 
ple,  for  we  are  surely  going  to  be  winners  this  day.' 

"The  Moose  people  were,  however,  not  yet  quite 
249 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

discouraged.  There  are  three  tries  yet,'  they  said, 
'and  our  man  may  yet  win.'  But  their  hopes  were 
soon  gone,  for  when  Nanahboozhoo  threw  the  plum 
stones  the  third  time  he  was  as  successful  as  at  the 
first." 

"This  decided  the  game  in  favor  of  the  Elks, 
who  now  rushed  upon  the  Moose  people  and 
thrashed  them  all  the  way  back  to  their  own  village. 

"The  Moose  were  very  much  humiliated  at  this 
defeat.  They  had  not  only  had  a  good  beating  but, 
according  to  the  custom  of  the  tribes,  they  were 
obliged  to  restore  much  of  the  property  which  they 
had  won  from  the  Elks  in  their  previous  contests.  A 
council  was  called  not  long  after  and  there  was  quite 
a  discussion  among  them  as  to  the  best  plan  to  be 
adopted  to  defeat  the  Elks  and  regain  supremacy. 
They  decided  on  a  trial  of  strength,  for  in  such  en 
counters  they  had  generally  been  victorious.  They 
had  two  high  poles  erected  with  a  crossbar  on  the 
top,  and  the  contest  was  to  see  which  side  could  pro 
duce  the  man  who  should  throw  the  heaviest  stone 
over  that  bar.  They  sent  their  challenge  to  the  Elks 
to  meet  them  if  they  dare. 

"The  Elks  quickly  responded  and  were  soon  at  the 
place  where  the  Moose  people,  who  were  awaiting 
them,  had  erected  the  high  poles  with  the  crossbar. 
When  everything  had  been  arranged  their  strongest 
man  took  up  a  heavy  stone  and,  with  a  tremendous 
effort,  succeeded  in  barely  throwing  it,  so  that  it 
struck  the  crossbar  and  carried  it  down  to  the 
ground.  When  the  crossbar  had  been  replaced  a 

250 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

son  of  the  chief  of  the  Elks  went  forward,  as  though 
he  would  be  the  competitor  on  the  side  of  the  Elks. 
He  pretended  as  though  he  could  not  even  lift  the 
heavy  stone  which  the  Moose  champion  had  thrown. 
When  the  Moose  people  saw  this  they  shouted  out  in 
triumph,  and  began  to  get  ready  to  give  the  Elks  as 
good  a  beating  as  they  had  received  from  them  on 
a  former  occasion. 

"Seeing  them  thus  coming,  Nanahboozhoo  rushed 
forward,  seized  the  heavy  stone,  and  sent  it  high  up 
and  far  over  the  tops  of  the  poles — thus  winning 
the  victory  again  for  the  Elks.  With  a  shout  of  tri 
umph  the  Elks  again  attacked  the  Moose  and  drove 
them  in  disgrace  back  to  their  own  village.  The 
Moose  people  were  now  more  humiliated  than  ever, 
but  they  determined  to  try  another  plan;  for  they 
were  resolved  not  to  give  up  to  the  Elks,  whom  they 
had  so  often  defeated.  After  much  consultation 
they  said : 

"  'Let  us  have  a  contest  at  diving  in  the  lake,  that 
we  may  see  if  our  champion  cannot  remain  longer 
under  the  water  than  any  one  of  the  Elks/ 

"So  they  went  over  to  the  village  of  the  Elks  and 
told  them  they  had  come  to  have  another  contest 
with  them.  To  the  proposal  of  the  Moose  the  Elks 
all  agreed,  and  both  parties  proceeded  to  the  lake. 
Here  a  large  hole  was  cut  in  the  ice  and  the  cham 
pion  of  the  Moose  prepared  to  go  down  into  the 
water.  One  of  the  brothers  of  the  beautiful  Indian 
girl  who  had  been  selected  as  Nanahboozhoo' s  bride 
said  to  Nanahboozhoo : 

251 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

"  'As  our  bodies  are  tougher  than  yours  you  must 
let  me  compete  this  time.' 

"Nanahboozlioo  would  not  let  him  do  this.  He 
said: 

"  'I  am  not  afraid  of  the  cold  water,  and  besides 
I  have  plenty  of  friends  down  there.' 

"And,  sure  enough,  the  mud  turtle  came  up  and 
said,  in  words  that  only  Nanahboozhoo  could 
understand : 

"  'My  brother,  I  have  come  up  at  the  request  of 
your  brother,  the  wolf,  to  aid  you.  Trust  yourself 
in  my  care  and  no  harm  will  come  to  you/ 

"Nanahboozhoo  was  well  pleased  to  hear  this,  for 
he  knew  that  his  spirit  brother  had  sent  his  friend 
the  mud  turtle  to  help  him  in  this  trial. 

"The  competitors  now  stripped  themselves,  and 
when  the  signal  was  given  they  both  dived  into  the 
water  and  disappeared.  The  Moose  people  had  such 
confidence  in  their  champion  that  they  had  all 
brought  with  them  very  heavy  sticks  with  which' 
they  intended  giving  the  Elks  a  great  beating  in  re 
turn  for  the  two  previous  defeats. 

"The  Elks,  however,  were  not  dismayed.  They 
only  said : 

"  'Just  wait  until  the  contest  is  decided.' 

"In  the  meantime  the  competitors  under  the  water 
were  so  near  together  at  first  that  the  people  on  the 
land  heard  the  Moose  say,  'Elk,  are  you  cold  ?'  To 
which  the  mud  turtle,  who  had  covered  the  Elk  com 
petitor  over  with  his  shell,  replied : 

"  'No,  Moose;  but  are  you  cold?' 
252 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

"As  the  people  on  the  shore  could  not  hear  any 
answer  to  this  question  it  gave  some  alarm  to  the 
Moose  people  about  their  champion,  who  they  feared 
must  be  benumbed  with  the  cold.  This  was  really 
the  case,  for  in  a  short  time  he  came  to  the  surface 
of  the  water  so  nearly  frozen  to  death  that  he  had 
to  be  helped  out  of  the  water. 

"When  the  mud  turtle  and  Nanahboozhoo  heard 
the  shoutings  of  triumph  of  the  Elks  they  knew  that 
the  Moose  champion  had  failed,  and  so  they  came 
up  to  the  surface.  Nanahboozhoo  swam  ashore  and 
joined  in  the  pursuit  of  the  disheartened  Moose 
people,  who  had  again  so  signally  failed. 

"These  repeated  defeats  very  much  angered  and 
humiliated  the  Moose  people.  They  almost  quar 
reled  among  themselves  in  their  vexation  as  they 
talked  them  over  at  their  councils.  Still  they  were 
in  no  humor  to  give  up.  They  had  two  very  swift 
runners  among  them,  and  they  decided  to  challenge 
the  Elks  to  a  foot  race.  So  they  again  sent  a  num 
ber  of  their  party  over  to  the  tent  of  the  Elk  people 
and  said: 

"  'We  are  not  at  all  satisfied  yet,  and  we  wish  to 
know  if  the  son  of  the  chief  and  his  brother-in-law, 
the  young  stranger  who  has  come  into  your  midst, 
will  run  a  foot  race  against  two  of  our  young 
people.' 

"This  challenge  was  at  once  accepted  and  soon  all 
preparations  were  made  for  the  great  race.  It  was 
decided  that  it  should  be  run  on  the  ice  of  the  frozen 
lake,  which  was  several  miles  round.  Much  snow 

253 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN   TALES 

had  fallen,  but  the  people  of  both  sides  turned  out 
for  days  and  cleared  out  a  good  track.  They  made: 
it  near  the  shore,  and  so  that  the  finishing  spot  would 
be  near  where  was  the  starting  point. 

"The  Moose  felt  quite  certain  of  winning  this 
time,  because  by  their  magic  their  runners  were  to 
be  turned  into  real  Moose,  with  four  legs,  and  they 
argued  that  runners  with  four  feet  could  surely  beat 
those  who  had  only  two.  But  there  were  others  who 
had  heard  about  this  great  race,  and  among  them 
was  the  wolf,  the  spirit  brother  of  Nanahboozhoo, 
and  so  he  came  to  him  the  night  before  the  race. 

"  'My  brother/  he  said,  'I  will  come  and  help  you 
in  this  race.  You  are  the  only  one  that  can  see  me, 
so  I  will  be  on  the  track,  about  half  way  round,  and 
when  you  come  there  you  can  get  on  my  back  and  I 
will  carry  you  at  a  greater  speed.  But  you  must 
keep  your  legs  moving  as  if  rapidly  running,  or 
the  people  will  suspect  something  unusual." 

"There  was  a  great  crowd  to  witness  this  race  be 
tween  the  two  great  Moose,  to  represent  the  Moose 
people,  and  the  son  of  the  chief  and  his  unknown 
brother-in-law  to  represent  the  Elks.  When  the  sig 
nal  was  given  away  they  started  over  the  icy  trail. 
The  Moose  soon  were  at  the  front,  with  the  chief's 
son  not  far  behind.  Nanahboozhoo  was  purposely 
a  little  in  the  rear,  and  so  was  able  to  spring  upon 
the  wolf's  back  without  attracting  attention. 

''With  this  steed  under  him  he  sped  along  with 
marvelous  rapidity.  At  the  half-way  point  of  the 
race  he  overtook  his  brother-in-law,  and  giving  him 

254 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 


ALGONQUIN   INDIAN   TALES 

his  hand,  they  were  soon  far  in  front.  When  they 
rushed  in  ahead  there  was  great  excitement.  The 
Moose  people  were  soon  running  back  to  their  vil 
lage  with  the  Elks  whipping  them  to  the  very  doors 
of  their  wigwams. 

"After  this  the  Moose  dare  not  challenge  the  Elks 
to  any  further  contest,  but  they  were  so  furious  that 
they  meditated  murder  in  their  hearts  toward  the 
young  stranger,  who  had,  they  now  saw,  been  the 
cause  of  their  many  defeats.  Nanahboozhoo,  how 
ever,  easily  thwarted  their  evil  schemes,  but  at  length 
some  of  them  were  so  bad  that  his  anger  was  aroused 
and  he  exerted  all  his  magic  power. 

"  'Moose  you  are  by  name/  he  said  to  them,  'and 
for  your  bad  deeds  I  change  you  into  the  animals 
after  whom  you  are  named.  Hereafter  you  will  live 
in  the  swamps,  among  the  willows  and  young  birch. 
On  them  you  will  have  to  browse  for  a  living.  For 
a  little  variety  in  your  food  you  may,  in  the  summer 
time,  go  out  into  the  shallow  waters  and  paw  up  and 
eat  the  great  roots  of  the  water-lilies.' 

'Thus  the  Elks  again  had  peace  and  quietness. 
Gambling  was  never  again  allowed  among  them,  and 
Nanahboozhoo,  after  receiving  their  grateful  thanks, 
returned  to  his  own  country." 

"What  did  he  do  after  that?"  asked  Sagastao. 

"Not  much,  for  a  while;  but  after  a  time  he  de 
cided  to  go  away  up  North.  Each  fall,  however,  he 
comes  and  looks  around  to  see  how  everything  is 
going  on.  Then  he  rests  on  some  of  the  mountains 
and  has  a  big  smoke,  which  settles  down  on  the  hill- 

255 


ALGONQUIN    INDIAN    TALES 

sides  and  valleys  and  makes  the  beautiful  hazy  time 
which  we  all  call  the  Indian  Summer." 

"Well,"  said  Minnehaha,  "if  the  smoke  of  Nanah- 
boozhoo's  big  pipe  of  peace  makes  the  beautiful  haze 
of  the  lovely  Indian  Summer,  it  is  about  the  best 
thing  I  have  heard  yet  of  tobacco  smoke  doing." 

And  so  say  we  all. 


256 


GLOSSARY 


Ana-mak-qui,  Evil  spirits  or  magicians. 
An-ntm-gi-tee,  The  ghost  with  big  ears. 
Ja-koos,  Strong-armed. 
Keche-Wapoose,  Great  Rabbit. 
Kin-ne-sa-sis,  Little  Fish. 
Kosh-ke-e-wa-see,  Partridge. 
Ma-hei-gan,  Wolf. 

Mani-boos  or  Manitoos  or  Munedoos,  Spirits. 
Me-squah-be-me-sheen,  Red  Willows. 
Minne-ha-ha,  Laughing  Waters. 
Mis-ta-coo-sis,  Aspen  Tree. 
Mis-mis,  Grandfather. 
Moos-wa,  Moose. 
Moo-she-kin-ne-bik,  Sea  Monster. 
Musk-a-moot,  Medicine  Bag. 
Mud-je-kee-wis,  West  Wind. 

Na-nah-booz-hoo,   Son  of  Mud-je-kee-wis — West  Wind. 
Nah-poo-tee,   Wolf. 

Ni-koo-chis,  Solitude — name  of  a  giant. 
Nokomis,  Grandmother. 
Ome-mee,  Pigeon  or  Dove. 
Oo-kis-ki-mu-ni-sew,  Kingfisher. 
Oo-see-mee-id,  The  Younger. 
257 


GLOSSARY 

Se-si-giz-it,   The  Older. 

Pa-peu-pe-na-ses,  Laughing  Bird. 

Pug-a-mah-kon,  A  hammer. 

Puk-an-eh,   Grasshopper. 

Sa-gas-ta-oo-ke-mou,  shortened  to  Sagastao,  The  Sunrise 
Gentleman. 

Sa-ke-how,  Beloved. 

Se-se-pask-wut,  Sugar. 

Sis-tin-a-koo,  The  magician  who  guarded  the  fire  in  the 
interior  of  the  earth. 

Shu-ni-ou,  Money. 

So-qua-a-tum,  Steadfast. 

Sou-wa-nas,  South  Wind,  The  great  Story-teller. 

Sou-wa-na-que-na-peke,  The  Voice  of  the  South  Wind 
Birds. 

Wah-ki-e-gun,   The  House. 

Wau-be-noo,  The  East. 

Wakonda,  A  supernatural  Person. 

Wakontas,  Son  of  Wakonda. 

Wau-konug,  Lichen. 

Wenonah,  Daughter  of  Nokomis  and  mother  of  Nanah- 
boozhoo. 


R  A 

OF  THE 


•HVER3ITY 


258 


FORM  NO.  DD6 


LD  21-100m-7,'33 


27812 


X 


